LoveHateSexPain
by LilGray
Summary: AU set before Season 1 but does use the Jason/Amy/Lafayette/Eddie storyline.  What if Eric knew the Queen's plans before Bill got to Bon Temps?  What if he knew Sookie existed before Bill got there? Uses stuff from Seasons 1 & 2. I have not seen Season 3.
1. Chapter 001 LoveHateSexPain

**A/N: OK, so I haven't given up on ****It's Elemental****, but this story just would not leave me alone. I WILL be continuing ****It's Elemental ****but I'm working on this one while it's flowing so well. Also, many thanks to all those who reviewed It's Elemental. I'm sorry I didn't get to reply to all of you, but things with my Dad distracted me. The good news is they removed the Cancer and he is currently Cancer free. Thank you to all those who sent warm wishes.**

**!WARNING!**

**This is not going to be a pretty romance… it's going to be a romance between people in a D/s relationship. Eric WILL Debase and Humiliate and HURT Sookie and they will BOTH get pleasure from it. Though I'm having trouble writing this as dark as I had intended, so it's still hearts and flowers. It's beginning to look like it's going to be a combination of hearts and flowers and D/s with SM, so there will be love behind everything Eric does to Sookie, but some of the things they do together or he does to her might offend some people, so be warned. **

**Also, Sophie is SUPER crazy and a severe Sadist… she will hurt people for fun regardless of the fact that they HATE it and derive absolutely NO pleasure from the pain she causes… so not a pretty flowery story in that respect… **

**I'm fairly certain I will remember to warn people before the non-love induced torture scenes, but if you don't like this sort of story or feel you can't handle even references to it then please stop reading now! Thank you. **

**My other story **_**It's Elemental**_** might be more to your liking if you want more hearts and flowers and such with very little or no degradation, humiliation or extreme pain.**

**Also, this story is apparently touching on some disturbing topics (not including the aforementioned D/s & S&M) I discuss Uncle Bartlett and what he did and there's sort of a flashback scene, you don't actually see what he did, but you do see Eric deal with the actual flashback as well as the aftermath of the flashback. If things Uncle Bartlett might have done to Sookie are a trigger for you, this probably isn't the story for you, since in my story molestation has long lasting effects (kinda like real life) and I think this is going to be a recurring issue between/with Eric and Sookie.**

**One more thing… If talk of cutting or self mutilation is a trigger for you, please don't read this story. It ties in with the Bartlett storyline, but I'm gonna be mentioning scars and how they got there and I don't want to inadvertently cause someone to hurt him or herself. I'm actually surprised I wrote about it, because it's usually a trigger for me, but I did, so if this is a problem for you, you probably shouldn't read this story. **

**I think that's all the warnings. :D So if you still want to read… Enjoy…**

A/N: Season One hasn't happened yet, except for the following characters: Jason, Amy, Lafayette and Eddie with some changes to the time line.

Jason gets back with Dawn BEFORE season one begins; he sees fang marks on her and has trouble maintaining his erection. They fight, so Jason goes to see Lafayette for some Viagra, but Lafayette gives him V instead. Jason LOVES V! So he wants more of the effect, so he downs the whole rest of the vial and has the whole Priapism thing happen. SO Lafayette cuts Jason off with the V. SO Jason goes looking for V at Fangtasia and meets Amy. They do V together and HE LOVES THAT even more. When they run out of V they follow Lafayette to Eddie's house and Vamp-nap him like in the show. Everything else is AU.

**Love-Hate-Sex-Pain**

**Chapter One**

***************************************9*************************

**JPOV**

I shuffle my feet as much as I can with my neck chained to the wheel in the ceiling. "Lafayette, what do you think is gonna happen to us? Are they gonna kill us?" I know I sound nervous.

"Bitch, what do you think is gonna happen, you kidnapped a Vampire and staked him. I think at this point you should start praying for it to be quick. And if by some chance we DO Get out of here… I WILL KILL YOU SLOW!" WOW, Lafayette seems really pissed off.

"That wasn't my fault, Amy did that stuff."

He doesn't let me finish, "You helped her! You kept him hostage at your house. Did you help her clean up after she killed him? Ya know, Eddie didn't do nothin' to deserve what you Motherfuckers did to him. Now leave me the FUCK ALONE!" and he turns his back on me.

"Baby we're in this together. And we'll get out of it together. Don't admit to anything OK!" Amy's trying to make eye contact with me, but I'm keeping my eyes to the floor. I WILL DO ANYTHING to get out of this mess! Even if it means giving Amy to the Vamps; whatever it takes to get out of this alive.

The door opens at the top of the stairs and the big blonde comes down the stairs in track pants and a tank. I never thought of a Vampire owning track pants. He stands at the bottom of the stairs and looks us each over.

*****************************************9***********************

**EPOV**

I lean back in my chair with my feet propped up on the desk in front of me. As I sit in my office listening to last night's recordings from the Queen's compound I am again reminded of this Sookie Stackhouse woman the Queen's pet keeps talking about. This Sookie lives in my Area and should therefore be part of my retinue but knowing the foolishness of my Queen I have a feeling she's going to try to go around me. She knows I would highly value a woman with such abilities, but if the Queen gets a hold of her it will be an advantage over me, which I cannot allow.

I send out a call to my Child to come to the office. A moment later she knocks and enters when I permit her to. She follows orders so well I miss the times when I would have to punish her over and over. Now I hardly ever get to punish her. I need to find a new pet of my own, someone with some fire in them; someone who will take millennia to finally back down and who doesn't heal almost immediately. I want the welts, bruises and cuts I place on my pet to last a while.

Pam lowers her eyes like a good Child should and asks, "Master?"

I continue listening to the tapes while I ask, "What have you found out about Ms. Stackhouse?"

"Nothing notable... She's 25 and living in a rundown farmhouse with her Grandmother. She works at Merlotte's, a roadside dump owned by a Shifter named Sam Merlotte."

"And the rumors of her Telepathy?" I ask as I hear The Queen talking to a Vampire named William Compton.

"The investigator couldn't find out for sure, so I went to visit her Grandmother, whom I glamoured earlier this evening. According to her the girl CAN hear people's thoughts, though they don't talk about it very often. Honestly Master, the girl seems rather simple. She enjoys the little pleasures in life and completely ignores anything painful, actually ignore might not be the best word, but I am having trouble finding a more appropriate word, but she 'just doesn't let anything get her down' as the Vermin say. Oh and the girl CANNOT be glamoured, at least not by me"

"Interesting, this will take some planning then, I will have to get her to come to me of her own free will. Do you have any information on her likes or dislikes?" I ask as a plan begins to form in my mind.

"I'm sorry Master, I only got the very basic's. The girl came home from work and that is how I discovered that I cannot glamour her, I thought it prudent to your plans that I not stay. I do not believe that she knew I was a Vampire, but she definitely knew I was different. After I left the yard I stayed in the woods while the girl and her Grandmother spoke. Before they went inside she said that I was silent. I can only surmise, since I spoke to her that she was referring to her Telepathy." Pam still has her eyes cast down again like the good Child she is. If Pam cannot glamour her, then most Vampires won't be able to glamour her either, My Pam is very strong for one so very young.

I long for someone to argue with me, which of course makes no sense since I would simply glamour, torture or kill to get my way, but someone with fire inside her would be delightful. If I cannot glamour her… I am beginning to wonder if perhaps Ms. Stackhouse is the key to ending my boredom.

"Good, if she cannot hear Vampires I won't have to find a way to hide it from the Vampire Community, and more importantly the Queen. Go tell Clancy to see to things for the night. You and I are going to interview Ms. Stackhouse's wayward Brother. Meet me downstairs when you return from the front.

In the recording The Queen orders Compton to come home to Bon Temps and seduce Ms. Stackhouse to the Queen's way of thinking. Compton mentions that if he is to have a sound reason to return to Bon Temps they'll have to kill his last relative so he can move into the house next to the Stackhouse's home and have a plausible story as to why he has returned. They also make plans to arrange a set up of sorts where Ms. Stackhouse will save Compton from Drainers. I don't even have to wonder which ones they're likely to use. I know of a couple that lives in Bon Temps. 'Small potatoes' as the Vermin say, so I have not as yet dealt with them, but this could very well be the in I need with Ms. Stackhouse. If I play the tapes for her and show her that Human authorities will be no help to her against the Queen then she will have no choice but to turn to me. I may even be able to get the Shifter, Merlotte, to help if I can convince him that I am the lesser of two evils.

But first I need to talk to her brother. I need all the insight I can get about this young woman, though how helpful the boy is going to be has yet to be seen. He does not strike me as very intelligent, fortunately for me he also doesn't strike me as someone who's very loyal, strictly 'a save his own neck' kind of guy. Lafayette Reynolds on the other hand seems like he's very loyal, perhaps I can get him to see me as the lesser of two evils as well.

I get up from my desk after Compton informs the Queen that it'll take up to a month to get everything in place. I have to assume that the Queen will push for it to happen as soon as possible, so in reality that gives me two weeks at most. I turn off my iPod and head to the cellar.

I have of course heard everything that has been said downstairs while I spoke with Pam so I know that this Amy girl is trying to save her own ass. She will be useful in that I will show the two men what happens if they cross me. Though perhaps Lafayette should not actually see me kill her. I want him to prefer me over the Queen and help me convince the girl that my plan is the best plan.

I hear the trio downstairs go silent and figure this is my opportunity to make a lasting impression. I head down the stairs and immediately see the three of them are as far away from each other as they can get while chained to the ceiling. I stop almost directly in front of Stackhouse and stare him down. "I have a proposition for two of you. If you help me achieve my goal I will let you go, provided of course that you avoid anything to do with Vampire's from here on out." Stackhouse doesn't even know what the proposition is or what my goal is and he's already nodding his head.

"I need information on your sister, Stackhouse. I have become aware of a threat to her safety and wish to intercede on her behalf…"

"What kind of information, I'll tell you anything you want to know." Stackhouse doesn't even let me finish my sentence, PERFECT!

And as expected Lafayette jumps in, "The HELL you will Jason." He stares down Jason till he slumps a little in his spot on the ground. "If anyone tells you anything about that sweet girl, we need assurances that she'll be safe, and I personally want to know what threat would cause you, the Sheriff of Area Five to get involved with a little girl who's never done nothin' to no one."

He knows I'm Sheriff. So perhaps he knows the Queen exists? "Have you ever heard of a Vampire called Sophie-Anne Leclerq?" I did not know black men could turn that shade of pale.

"The Queen you mean?" Lafayette is visibly shaking. He may be a bigger help than I realized.

"Exactly, the Queen, she has a pet named Hadley…"

Stackhouse interrupts me again. "Hadley's alive?"

I choose to allow the interruption for the time being. "Yes, alive and living with the Queen. They are Lovers and this Hadley has been telling the Queen all about young Ms. Stackhouse, including the little detail about her Telepathy." I pause to let that sink in. "The Queen has decided that she wants your Sister for her own. She is currently devising a trap to seduce your sister and bring her to the Queen's Court. The Queen is known for her cruelty and she does not tend to treat her pets well unless they have something she wants. I have heard The Queen make plans to turn your sister after she has Blood Bonded to her. Your sister will be her virtual slave for the rest of eternity. Unless of course I step in and claim your sister first." I pause again to let THAT sink in.

Lafayette seems to have gotten even paler as I have spoken. I turn my gaze to him and say, "I will not turn the girl or take her from the Shreveport area. If she behaves we could live quite contently together. I'm inclined to be kinder to one of my choosing if I were to ever get a pet as I have never had one before. I know you may find this hard to believe, but I CAN be a kind Master when I want to be. She would be mine for the rest of her life, but she would be safe from the Queen and she would be in Shreveport instead of New Orleans." I let Lafayette think on that for a moment.

He looks me in the eye as he says, "I've heard horror stories about you and how you treat those who cross you, but what I've heard about that woman and her interactions with just regular folk is far worse than anything I've ever heard about you. I know that if I had to choose between crossing you and crossing the Queen I'd choose to go against her every time."

I am pleased by this statement, even if he is right about which of us would be worse for his health. "I need to know how to best appeal to Ms. Stackhouse. If I am to formulate a plan to best help her out of the future the Queen wishes for her I need to know everything the two of you know about her."

Lafayette nods slowly as if he's weighing his options. "You promise not to turn her?"

"I do." I don't mention that there are other ways to bind her to me for eternity. I doubt either man knows anything about the Marks anyways, but best to play it like she will live out her natural born life. "I give you my word, I have no intention of turning her, unless of course she asks me to, but even then I might not choose to."

I feel Pam shift her weight slightly behind me. I felt her come down the stairs during our conversation but she is being the dutiful Child and not interrupting, but I can feel her surprise at my words just now. I think she assumed I would turn the girl, but she knows if I give my word then I will not break it. She should know by now that I always plan for every contingency.

We spend the next three hours learning everything there is to know about Ms. Sookie Stackhouse, and every word I hear just convinces me more that she will be the end to my boredom.

****************************************9************************

**Three Nights Later**

The noise of the bar dies down as I enter. All eyes are on me. My Child wasn't kidding when she said this is a dump. I quickly locate the only Shifter in the bar and approach him.

"I'm looking for Sam Merlotte."

"That's me." The Shifter replies as he swallows almost audibly. Good, I need a little fear for this to work.

I nod almost imperceptibly, "Do you have an office we can speak in, what I have to say should not be over heard."

He finishes wiping the already clean bar with an equally clean towel and drops the towel into the sink. "Follow me."

As we walk towards the back I see the lovely Ms. Stackhouse. She looks as though she's trying to figure out a puzzle. She also looks a little awestruck. I make sure to give her my sexiest smirk as we pass her and I hear her moan just loud enough for me to hear her, but not loud enough for anyone else to hear. She is lovely. And I am happy to see that she is not all skin and bones as so many women these days are. She has soft curves to her. She looks as a woman is meant to look. Oh I am going to enjoy her softness.

As I walk passed her she turns to tend to a customer and I get a whiff of her scent, 'Praise Freyja!' She's untouched. Oh I am so very much going to enjoy everything she has to offer.

I follow Merlotte and enter his office behind him… it's not much more than an oversized closet with a desk in it. I immediately get down to business, "You know who I am?"

The Shifter nods, "Eric Northman, Sheriff of Area Five." He still looks a little nervous, which is perfect for my needs.

"Good, you are aware of the Queen?" He nods again and I continue, "The reason I am here is because the Queen is plotting against one of your employees and I wish to assist this person in an effort to keep them from being spirited away to New Orleans, never to be seen or heard from again."

He becomes paler with each word that leaves my mouth. "You mean Sookie?"

"Yes, Ms. Stackhouse has at least one talent the Queen wishes to own. I wish to prevent this and perhaps acquire her for myself." I can easily see that he objects to that last part. I answer his unspoken objection before he can open his mouth, "I know you do not wish to see her belong to any Vampire, but let's face the facts. Unless someone powerful claims her she will constantly be fending off unwanted advances on her person. And if she is not mine, she WILL be the Queen's. So you need to decide, which of us is the lesser of two evils; The Queen, who likes to torture people just for existing in her world or me, who will undoubtedly be a much kinder Master." I pause to let him ponder the situation.

"The Queen is sending someone to trap Ms. Stackhouse. We have a week maybe two before he arrives. I think it in her best interest to already be Bonded to me before he gets here. Also, a Bonding can be overwhelming in the best of situations, so I wish to minimize her discombobulation and unease by spreading the blood exchanges out over a couple of days. It will undoubtedly be easier on her. Will you help me convince her that I am the best solution to this problem?"

"How do I know the Queen really is a threat? For all I know there is no real threat and you have devised this plan of yours to trick her into becoming yours." He says resolutely.

I figured he would question whether I am telling the truth about a threat to the girl, so I came prepared. I take my iPod out of my pocket and press play. There is no need for either of us to place the ear buds in our ears as we are Supes and our hearing is better than any Human could ever hope to have. I have already fast forwarded to the part where the Queen orders Compton to use any means necessary to acquire the Telepath for her. She goes into detail about how seducing her and marrying her should bind her sufficiently to him to get her to follow him to Court. Then she speaks of how she will Blood Bond to her and then turn her.

His eyes have gone round and his face has lost all color. I speak firmly, "I will not turn her. I give you my word on that. And I will not remove her from the Shreveport area, although she will need to move to Shreveport to live with me. A Bonded needs to be close to the other, especially right after the Bond is formed or the Human could go mad. I am even willing to supplement her Grandmother's income so that she will not suffer from the loss of Sookie's added income. I will make this as easy and pleasant for the girl as I can. Everything I know about her says she will resist me, so I need your help convincing her that this is the best way. Will you assist me?"

The Shifter looks defeated as he replies, "Yes, since the Queen has her eyes set on Sookie you are probably the best solution to this situation. Do you want to talk to her now? I can call her back here and we can discuss this now, I feel the sooner the better."

I agree that sooner is better, "In deed. Call her back here and introduce us."

I am 6"5' to her 5"5', so I move to sit in one of the chairs cramped into the office. I do not wish to intimidate this girl, I grin to myself, not yet at least.

I can hear her asking the Shifter if everything is OK and then there she is walking in behind the Shifter who sits in his chair behind his desk.

"Sookie, this is Eric Northman. Eric, Sookie Stackhouse." I nod hello. "Mr. Northman has learned some information that affects you directly so he has asked me to help him explain the situation to you."

"Um, OK? Um, this is rude, but why can't I… well what I mean is… are you a Vampire?" She looks down as she finishes her sentence.

I smile at her, "I am a Vampire Ms. Stackhouse."

"Oh please call me Sookie." She responds smiling back.

I nod, "If you call me Eric, I shall call you Sookie, agreed?"

She nods back her smile growing wider. "So Eric, what information have you come across and how does it affect me?"

"Some background information is needed to fully understand the situation, so first let me ask, do you know anything about the Vampire power structure?"

I pause until she shakes her head and then continue, "I am the Sheriff of Area Five in the Kingdom of Louisiana. Within the United States there are Vampire Kingdoms, they are usually comprised of a State or more. Texas for example is a Kingdom as are six of the seven New England states. All those states except Connecticut are part of the New England Territories. Connecticut is part of the Gotham Territories, which consists of New York and New Jersey as well. Louisiana is a Kingdom, or more specifically, a Queendom. We have a Queen and she oversees the various Areas within her Kingdom. The Sheriffs oversee each individual area within the Kingdom. My Area, Area Five consists of most of Northern Louisiana."

I pause again to allow her to absorb this information. Admittedly it is a lot to take in for a Human who has no clue of the world around her.

She takes a deep breath and then nods slightly, so I continue, "My Queen is, well, honestly she's unstable, mentally. She is very cruel and she keeps Human's as pets and does not treat them very well for very long, usually as long as it takes for her to become enamored with someone else. After they lose favor she treats them terribly. And by that I mean she tortures them for her own enjoyment even though most, if not all of them, find no pleasure in pain."

Sookie gasps and raises her hand to her throat when I mention torture.

"I wish I didn't have to scare you like this, but the Queen has become aware of you or more specifically your ability to hear Human's thoughts." She gasps again as her eyes go wide and her face pales.

"She wishes to acquire you for her own use. And I am quite certain that you would not enjoy your time in her Court, especially once she turns you."

She jerks at that and almost falls out of her chair as she says, "NO! No I don't want to be a Vampire!" Perfect, now I can promise not to turn her and she'll see me as her savior. She looks so pretty with tears in her eyes. I hope she doesn't realize how hard I have become at the sight and smell of her fear and tears.

I interrupt her before she can really get going, "I have come up with a way to thwart her plan." She stops and looks at me with those blue eyes overflowing with tears. UGH, not helping me lose my erection.

"I realize this is a lot to take in, but if you belonged to someone else, a Vampire, stronger and older than the Queen, then she could not turn you or even take you away from Area Five." I pause a moment and then continue, "As it happens, I am much older and stronger than the Queen and if you are amenable I would like to offer you my services in this respect." Now her eyes are round saucers and her mouth has formed a silent 'O'.

"Wha… I… um… ah… huh? You… You want to own me? I…" She pauses and I take the opportunity to continue.

"I know you probably don't want to belong to anyone, but you are going to one way or the other. I am simply offering you a better future. I promise not to turn you and not to force you to leave this area if you do not wish to."

***********************9*****************************************

**SPOV**

HOLY SHIT! This Vampire wants to own me. I get a little thrill at that. I can feel my blush slowly covering my entire body. I'll think about that tomorrow.

I DO NOT want to be a Vampire and he says he won't try to turn me. "Do you promise not to have anyone else try to turn me on your behalf either?"

He smiles, "You surprise me Sookie that is very clever of you."

"I'm not stupid!" I huff like a little girl, but he said it like he never thought I could think of such a thing.

"I'm aware that you are not stupid, I am merely shocked that you thought of an angle that is so devious. I was led to believe that you do not have a devious bone in you." He smiles again and I return the gesture.

I'm not so sure I DON'T want to belong to this man and that slaps up against my 21st century mindset. I mean I'm an independent woman I take care of myself and Gran. I don't need a man to take care of me and I certainly don't want to be owned, like a piece of property, right? A little voice inside my head whispers "Imagine how wonderful it would be to submit to this Vampire."

"I promise also, not to have someone turn you on my behalf." He states matter-of-factly.

OK Am I seriously considering this…? "The Cops could…"

He interrupts me, "Do nothing to help you. She could easily glamour them into believing that they've dealt with the issue or that the issue doesn't even exist." He pauses and I feel a pressure in my head, then he smiles, "You are one of the few individuals I have ever encountered that cannot be glamoured."

"Did… did you just try to glamour me?" I'm not sure if I'm offended or not.

"I did, I heard that you cannot be glamoured, but the Vampire who informed me of this is much younger than I am and I wanted to see if perhaps she just wasn't strong enough, but clearly you cannot be glamoured by me, so it stands to reason that there probably aren't very many individuals old enough or powerful enough to glamour you. This is something we need to know. It may save your life someday."

OK, so I guess it would be stupid to be offended. He's just trying to help me, but… "Why are you offering to help me? What's in it for you?" I'm almost afraid to ask, but this really does sound too good to be true. I doubt he's just doing it to be nice. He doesn't really strike me as a nice kind of guy; kick-ass Bad-Ass definitely, nice not so much.

He looks me straight in the eyes, "I would be lying if I said that you being mine wouldn't be an advantage for me over just about everyone." His eyes roam over my body slowly, almost like he's undressing me with his eyes, "Plus, I'd get you and I can't say that'd be a hardship."

OH HOLY HELL! My panties are soaking wet and I blush as he inhales deeply and smirks at me; GOD that's embarrassing, but hello, He's Sex on two legs. And does he mean he'd get me in the biblical sense? Cuz I've never… well I bet he's good at it if he's so old, which reminds me, "How old are you? OH GOSH, I'm sorry, that was rude, but, well…"

He smiles again, "I was made Vampire just about 1,200 years ago."

WOW! "Um, how old is the Queen?"

He needs to stop smiling at me. My panties can't handle anymore smiles, and yet he smiles again, "I do not know her exact age, but she is about 500 years old give or take 20 years."

"Does that mean you're a lot stronger than her, she wouldn't be able to take me from you?" Am I seriously considering this? I pause and then realize I AM considering this. OH BOY!

This time his smile is more reassuring than sexy, thought still very sexy. "If you were mine no one would be able to take you away from me. I would Bond you to me which would give me legal rights to you in my world. No one would be allowed to touch you without my permission. The only way to sever a Bond is to kill one or both parties. The only creatures old enough to kill me are my allies and those loyal to me. No, if you were mine the Queen would not be able to take you away from me."

I find that strangely reassuring. Sam shifts in his seat. I turn to him and ask, "Sam, what's your opinion on this?"

Sam looks at me through sad eyes then clears his throat, "Well, honestly, Sook, I'm not happy about you belonging to ANY Vampire, but the Queen is bad news and Eric's probably the only creature in the US powerful enough to stop her from taking you."

I wonder at his words, "Sam how do you know about creatures strong enough to stop the Queen?" I pause and consider, then ask, "I can't hear your thoughts clearly, it's more images and feelings than actual lines of thought, are you… I don't even know the word, but are you 'Other'?"

He smiles ruefully, "I'm a Supe, specifically a Shifter, Sookie. I can shift my shape into any animal, not humans, but any other animal."

"Wha? Excuse me, I need a moment." The world just doubled in size and I'm not sure how I feel about that. I always suspected that Sam is something other than Human, but I'm not sure I ever considered this as an actual possibility. He can change shape. WOW!

"Um, we'll talk later Sam OK?" I pause as he nods, then I turn back to Eric, "Eric, what exactly would it mean to be yours, what would I be required to do?" Again I'm afraid to ask, but I need to know if I'm going to make an informed decision.

********************************************9********************

**EPOV**

She wants to know what it would mean to be mine and what she would have to do. Everything she is will be mine. She will do NOTHING without my permission. And she will be required to do EVERYTHING I tell her to. Naturally I can't tell her all THAT just now. So I smile that smile that gets that delicious aroma into the air and reply, "Well, We would Bond as I said and Bonded couples require close contact, so we would need to live together. You would…"

She cuts me off, "I'd have to live with you? I live with Gran, she wouldn't be able to keep the house if I wasn't contributing to the bills and she won't let me help pay them if I don't live there. I can't live with you." She's shaking her head back and forth as she says this.

"I will set up accounts for all the bills to be paid; all she will have to pay for are her groceries and personal items. And if need be, and with your permission I would be willing to glamour her into accepting the money, incidentally I can also glamour her into being happy with you moving out if need be. You must understand… the choice you have is not to stay with your Gran or move in with me, it is in fact to live with me close to your Gran or live in New Orleans and never be allowed back here again. Those are your only choices. I realize you care about your Gran so I'm willing to make allowances so that you may see to her care, but this is non-negotiable, you could go mad in the first decade or so if we are not near each other always and by near each other I mean in the same building, preferably the same room."

Her eyes go wide again, "I'm not, I haven't, I won't have…" she pauses and then whispers the next word before resuming her usual volume of voice, "SEX with you! I don't even know you! I'm not a whore."

I smile until she gets to the whore part then I scowl, "No you certainly are not a whore. While it is likely that eventually we will have sex I will be willing to compromise and merely sleep in the same bed. I will be dead for the day anyway so, there will be no danger to your… Virtue." I won't mention that I will likely wake up ravenous every afternoon and that I will feed from her and in all likely hood fuck her. She will enjoy it and be a willing participant when it happens, but I don't want to scare her off now, not when I'm so close to getting what I want.

I pause briefly and then continue, "No one would be able to touch you without my permission. Your relatives could hug you, as could female friends but not males and no kissing anyone but your Gran."

I smell her arousal again and I wonder if perhaps she really is the solution to my boredom. If she gets off on being told what to do that will be perfect. The only thing that would be better than that is if she gets off on pain, but it'll be a while before I can discover the answer to that particular question. For some reason I don't want to force her, not the first time at least. If she is to be mine for all of eternity then we need to build a relationship on trust. She won't trust me if I force her to sleep with me before she is ready. Hopefully I can romance her into bed before Compton gets here.

"I would provide for you. You would not be allowed to continue to work here." I can see her gearing up to object so I jump to continue, "It would make me look weak and the whole point of you becoming mine is to keep you safe which I cannot do if other Vamps and Supes think I'm weak." I pause again and think for a moment as I see her still getting ready to argue, "If you must work you can work for me at Fangtasia, I think that would raise fewer eyebrows among Supes. Also I have a feeling my bar pays better than this place ever could, just based on the income of the patrons. My bar has tourists just itching to spend their money and Fangbangers living off of Mommy and Daddy's bank account, not to mention the Vampires who frequent the bar… any Vampire older than 100 is undoubtedly wealthier than the patrons here. Most vamps like to show off how much money they have, so they tip big, bigger than the hicks here. Think of how much you could help your Gran with that extra cash."

There's no need to tell her I will set up accounts in both their names and take care of their every need. In fact I have already got my Lawyer and my Accountant working on it now, so that when we finally Bond the transition will be smooth and hopefully painless for us both. I said I would provide for both of them, so I am being up front about it, so to speak, but I don't want to call attention to it as it is obviously a hot point for her.

"Sookie, I know this is a lot to take in and that I've sort of just sprung this on you with no warning, but time is of the essence in this matter. The man the Queen is sending to seduce you will be here in a couple of days at the earliest, but definitely within two weeks, probably a week is the most realistic guesstimate. I don't want to rush you, but it would be best if we Bond over the course of several days so as not to overwhelm your system. A Bonding can be very stressful for the Human involved under the best of circumstances so I want to ensure your Physical AND Mental well being."

"That's it then? I either Bond to you or Bond to the Queen and get turned against my will." She asks with tears in her eyes again.

"I'm afraid so Princess, as it stands I'm practically committing Treason… so we'll have to deny all knowledge of the Queen's plans, which shouldn't be too hard… except for your brother, I'll have to glamour the memories out of him." At the end of this statement I play it like I'm more talking to myself than to her.

She immediately asks, "Do you know where Jason is? Gran's awfully worried about him, and honestly so am I… no one's seen him in 4 days and it's not like him to just disappear."

PERFECT! Now I just have to make sure I don't over play my hand, so, "Do you know that your brother is a V addict?" she shakes her head as a tear falls from her eye.

"His source, a man named Lafayette Reynolds, cut him off after Jason intentionally overdosed. After being cut off he came to my bar trying to find a way to get more V and met a woman named Amy Burley." Her eyes are wide open again and the tears are freely flowing now.

"They followed Mr. Reynolds to his source, a Vampire named Eddie Heimann. He was a relatively new Turn and he was having trouble adapting to life as a Vampire. He made a deal with Mr. Reynolds and willingly gave him some of his blood, which Mr. Reynolds then sold to his clients. As far as V Dealers go we prefer his kind to the Drainers, but still his selling causes a market for Drainers. Anyway, After Mr. Reynolds acquired some of Eddie's blood and paid him for it your Brother and his girlfriend attacked Eddie and kidnapped him. They held him hostage in your brother's house where they fed from him daily, until, best as I can tell Eddie said something unbecoming about Ms. Burley and she staked him. Your brother helped her clean up the ensuing mess and cover up their crimes."

I pause briefly to gauge her reaction, and then hurry to continue, "As Sheriff of the Area one of my Duties is dealing with the Drainers, Dealers, and the like. I became aware of Eddie's disappearance and investigated thus turning up all of the aforementioned information. I apprehended Mr. Reynolds, Ms. Burley, and your Brother Four nights ago. I have questioned them and come to an arrangement with Mr. Reynolds. Your Brother I'm afraid was bamboozled as they say by this woman. She has done this many times in other territories. She will be dealt with according to Supe Law, but your brother I am keeping for two or three more nights in the hopes that the experience will 'scare him straight' as they say. No harm will come to him… while he is in my care. My hope is if I scare him enough he will stop taking V and avoid my kind at all costs for fear of what might happen to him if he gets involved with us again. It's a dangerous game because he can always become a fanatic, but I thought you would be most displeased with me if any harm befell your Brother while he is in my custody." I stop and wait to see what her reaction will be.

"You haven't hurt him?" she asks in a soft shaky voice.

"He was roughed up a little when he came into my custody, but no I have not permanently harmed him and I will not. And honestly a few bruises and a week's confinement are a rather light sentence considering he helped kidnap and then murder someone."

She nods slowly, "He doesn't think about consequences, never has, and probably never will. Thank you for not killing him, I figure that's what you meant by 'Amy will be dealt with according to Supe law?' Can I… why didn't you tell me from the start? You could have used it to get me to agree to your plan instead of spending an hour convincing me based on the merits of the plan."

The real answer to that is that I figured 'slipping' about having him in custody and then proclaiming that no harm will come to him will endear me to her, though I definitely can't tell her THAT, so... "I did not want it to cloud your judgment and I have a feeling if I had tried to use it against you you would have folded on principle alone just to save him. And I do NOT want to coerce you into any of this. Am I going to benefit greatly from this arrangement? Absolutely, but it is my hope that you will also benefit from this arrangement.

I don't want to guilt you into agreeing to be mine. Just sitting this close to you moves something in me. In an ideal world I would have all the time I need to romance you and convince you to be mine, but alas that is not meant to be, so I am trying to make it easier for you and be as fair as possible given the situation."

"Are you going to let Lafayette go too?" I can see the hope in her eyes.

I really don't want to, but again the idea is to endear me to her. "Yes, he has proven himself worthy of a second chance. I do not generally give second chances, but this one time I will. You should know he is very loyal to you and would not give me any information about you without being assured that you would be safe and unharmed. He is a good friend in that respect."

She smiles ruefully, "I suppose Jason was willing to tell you anything you wanted to know to save himself?"

I do not give her a verbal response and that in of itself is all the answer she needs. Another tear rolls down her cheek. I want to lick her tears, but I don't think she's ready for that.

"Do you choose me instead of the Queen?" I hold my breath even though I do not need to breathe; this is the moment of truth. Did I play this the right way to get what I want?

Sookie takes a deep calming breath and closes her eyes for a moment, when she opens them she smiles at me and I feel my undead heart warm. "Yes, I choose you, Eric. Thank you for helping me, though I do realize that you get a lot out of it too."

I smile back at her. "Excellent." I turn to look at the Shifter, "I assume I don't have to tell you what will happen to all of us if anyone finds out that I know the Queen's plans. It would put all of us including Sookie in danger, keep that in mind Shifter!"

I turn back to Sookie, "I wish for you to come and stay with me tonight, we will start the Bond and we will get to know each other better. Is this acceptable to you?"

She looks nervous suddenly and I remember that she is untouched, "I promise nothing you don't want will happen tonight. Everything I do to you will be done with your permission. You do not need to fear me." For tonight anyway. I say this though because I feel that underneath it all she is a submissive just waiting for the right Dominant to come along and release her. And I WILL be that Dominant for her.

"When do you get off work here tonight?"

I ask her, but it is the Shifter who answers, "She's scheduled till 8pm and since it's five of I think she's free to go now."

I stand and ask her, "Would you like me to follow you home and help you get a few things to take with you for the evening? I will have food delivered to the house tonight so you will not need to worry about that, but sleep clothes, perhaps a book to read and your toiletries might be useful since you will be stuck in my house until the sun sets tomorrow."

"Will it be safe to go outside during the day, I like to lie in the sun, I…"

I rush to reassure her, "That will not be a problem. I have a pool and lounge chairs out back, so if you bring your bathing suit you can swim and tan all you like."

After she grabs her belongings from the drawer in the Shifter's desk she walks to the door. Before I follow her down the hallway and out the back door into the employee parking lot I turn to the Shifter, "She will not be returning to work here again. If you need someone to cover her shifts till you can find a permanent replacement call Fangtasia and speak with Pam. She knows to expect your call."

My conversation with the Shifter lasts mere moments and then I see her to her car and she asks where my car is and I smile and say, "I didn't bring one."

"Then how did you get here? You didn't run all the way did you?" her eyes are wide again and I find the expression pleases me.

"I could have run here in a matter of minutes if I wanted to, but I chose to fly here instead."

She nearly swallows her tongue, "You FLEW?"

I nod and levitate off the ground. I fly to the back door of the bar and back to her and then land in front of her.

"HOLY SHIT!" and then her hand flies to her mouth and she blushes deeply and I wonder how far that blush goes, "Sorry."

I smile and help her into her car and tell her I'll be right behind her.

"You don't want to ride in my car with me?" she looks and sounds a little hurt by this thought.

"I don't know, do you think all of me will fit into that tiny car? I think from now on we'll have to use my car which will definitely fit all of me." I chuckle and so does she.

"Please. You can move the seat back and it's only a short drive." She leans into the car and across the seat giving me a perfect view of her beautiful ass and then I hear the lock click and she moves to sit back up. I close her door for her and walk over to the other side of the car and open the door and lean down to move the seat as far back as it will go. Though the outside of the car is clearly nearly as old as I am the inside is clean and tidy, so the seat moves back easily and I slide into the seat as I hunch down a little bit. We are definitely flying to my house after we gather her things.

We make idle chit chat as she drives, but as we get closer she grows quiet.

"What's wrong Sookie?" I ask. I have no idea what could dampen her mood so quickly.

"Nothing." It looks as though she plans to leave it at that and that won't do at all.

"Sookie? Tell me." I say with some authority and as hoped she responds immediately.

"I was just trying to figure out what to tell my Gran, about you, and why I'm staying with you and the whole thing with Jason, I just…"

"I would say that we tell her the truth, but if another vampire tries to glamour it out of her it could be disastrous for us. I really am committing Treason. I'd rather not have any loose ends." I tell her honestly.

"Could you glamour her to forget if anyone asks about it, so she knows but can't tell anyone? Would that work?" She asks hesitantly.

It's a solid idea and it has some merit. I tell her so and suggest that I think on it for a few minutes looking at all the angles. After about three minutes I decide, "It's a solid plan, I'll have to word the glamour very carefully, but if I cover all my bases it should work. Is that what you'd like to do?"

She nods and then says very softly, "I don't think we should tell her about Jason though, I think it would break her heart, what do you think?"

I pause to think and then, "Would she have any sway over him in terms of helping him stay on track and not get involved with the V and Vampires again? Because Sookie you need to understand, he IS an addict. I can glamour him, but he's still an addict."

"She might be able to help with that, though honestly he's never listened to either one of us." I see a tear forming in the corner of her eye.

"Sookie, it'll be OK, we'll figure out what to do. I think in the mean time we should tell your Gran and if it's too much for her we can glamour it out of her memory before Compton gets here, but she might have valuable ideas on how to deal with your brother in the most effective manner." I stop and think. I have never, NEVER been as open as I'm being with Sookie and it's a bit startling and off-putting, even if some of it is merely an act.

I must have made a face because she asks me, "What's wrong?"

And in keeping with tonight's theme I explain that I do not tell everyone everything, that I usually tell people nothing if I can get away with it.

She replies, "You were right to trust Sam with this he won't do anything to cause me harm and My Gran wouldn't do anything to hurt me either. I definitely agree with you glamouring Jason, though, cuz he'll tell everyone everything if it'll get him anything!"

"OK, so we tell your Gran everything and see where to go from there." I say as we pull up and around behind a house that has seen better days, though the yard looks well tended and there are flower beds full of blooming flowers. As I get out of the car the yard smells heavenly of Roses.

As we walk up the steps I watch as Sookie walks through the door and softly clear my throat. She looks at me confused. "You need to invite me in or I can't come in."

"Oh" she says startled, then she looks thoughtful as she asks, "Once an invitation is given can it be revoked or… I mean I'm not saying I'd revoke your invitation but I'm just wondering in terms of Vampires in general and I'm…"

She's cute when she rambles, but we have things to do so I store that thought away to be examined later and interrupt her before she has a chance to really get rolling in her ramble. "Sookie," I chuckle at the look on her face, "Yes you can revoke an invitation, but you and your Grandmother should not be inviting other Vampires into the house, especially given what we know about the Queen's plans. She's sending someone to seduce you and the first thing I would do if it were me is gain entry into your house. So please don't invite any strange Vampires in unless I expressly tell you it's OK"

"Oh, OK Um, Eric, please come in."

I smile as I step over the threshold and kiss her forehead, "Thank you, Princess."

She smiles at me and then grabs my hand and turns and walks into the kitchen where an elderly lady, whom I assume is Gran, is sitting having a cup of tea and a cookie. I start at the shock that flows through my body at her gentle touch, but quickly focus on the woman sitting in front of us.

"Gran this is Eric Northman, Eric, this is my Gran, Adele Stackhouse."

Mrs. Stackhouse goes to stand but I insist that she not get up on my account. "Mrs. Stackhouse, We have some things to discuss with you, but we don't want to bother you any more than is strictly necessary."

"Mr. Northman, please call me Adele, or Gran whichever you prefer." She smiles and gestures to the seats around the table "Please have a seat, can I get you anything to drink?"

"Oh, No thank you, and please call me Eric." I say as I smile and try to plan out how and what to say. This woman must also be handled carefully.

"First, and Sookie, I apologize I'm not sure I mentioned this to you, but apparently your cousin Hadley is alive and well, and living in New Orleans with the Queen. She is her current favored pet. I am unsure as to what affect if any our plans will have on her life." I pause to see if Sookie gets my meaning and she nods, so I continue.

"Secondly, Mrs, Gran, I am sorry for interrupting your evening and even sorrier that this will undoubtedly upset you to some extent, but it cannot be helped. Sookie must remain safe."

"Of course, Sookie's safety is paramount to me, interrupting my evening is a small price to pay for that, so please just tell me what is going on." She says evenly, though the tremble of her hand as she reaches for her cup of tea belies her calm façade.

So I explain about Kingdoms and the Queen and Sheriffs and how Hadley has been telling the Queen stories about Sookie that have earned the Queen's attentions both for Hadley and for Sookie. "Hadley seems to be faring well from what I've heard, but Sookie is in danger because of her Telepathy. The Queen will Blood Bond to her and then Turn her, which Sookie has expressed would be against her wishes.

The Queen has made arrangements for a Vampire named William Compton to move into the house across the cemetery and try to seduce Sookie. I fear what will happen if that does not work and Sookie remains unclaimed by someone stronger than the Queen; all I know for sure is that it would not end well for Sookie.

The Queen is trying to circumvent my authority as Sheriff of this Area by going around my back to acquire Sookie, which is actually advantageous for us as my monitoring of the Queens Compound has given us the opportunity to foil her plans.

Now I'm not going to lie to you, I gain a great deal from the arrangement I've made with Sookie, but I hope that she will gain from it as well. What she will earn from me for her Telepathic services will be enough to help you pay your bills and still have some left over to take some College classes or lessons if she has a hobby she'd like to pursue.

I'm trying to make this as advantageous for Sookie as it is for me, simply to be fair. I realize that Vampires are interrupting her life and messing with things we have no business interfering with, but now that the Queen knows of Sookie and her ability that is unavoidable at this point.

I am hoping that by taking Sookie's feelings and opinions into account we can arrange it so we are both satisfied with the outcome." I stop to see if Gran has anything to say yet.

She does. "I appreciate your candor Eric, as well as your taking Sookie's wants into account. Am I understanding all of this correctly that this Queen will take Sookie from her home and family and that she would probably never be allowed to return?"

"Yes Ma'am. And I have given my word to Sookie that I will not turn her _or_ have anyone else turn her for me. I have also promised that she will be able to stay in this area. Once word spreads about what she can do I think there will probably be some traveling involved, but her permanent place of residence will be in Shreveport." Notice I promised she can stay in this area, I never said she can see her family.

"I am more than 700 years older than the Queen, and therefore significantly stronger than her. The only reason I am a Sheriff and not a King is that I do not wish to deal with the headache that would come with being King."

Sookie giggles and I turn to look at her. "I'm sorry I just thought it was funny a Vampire worrying about getting a headache."

We all chuckle at that, it is sort of funny, but we need to finish this conversation so Sookie and I can start the Bond, so, "As I was saying, I have many allies and could easily take Louisiana for myself and I would have the backing of everyone who counts, but I am much more happy just managing my Area and going about my life.

The queen knows I could take her Kingdom from her if I so choose, but she also knows I don't want to run a Kingdom, so she 'allows' me to be her Sheriff which is advantageous to her as I am one of the most powerful Vampires in the Country if not the World. I am known to be loyal provided that you're loyal to me as well.

The Queen has broken faith with me by going behind my back to acquire Sookie, so I am trying to circumvent her plans, but I am still not interested in being King so I have to play this very carefully. The point is should the Queen challenge me I can and WILL take her out, but I am hoping to avoid that all together if at all possible.

But I want you to know that if I claim Sookie as my own I will protect her with my life. I want you to rest assured that Sookie's safety will be my number one priority."

Gran smiles at that and says, "Thank you for that small comfort, Eric."

"You're Welcome, but there is more news, that is not directly related to this topic, about your Grandson, first let me say that he is safe, but he has gotten himself into a bit of trouble recently," and I go on to explain everything about his V use and his participation in Eddie's kidnapping and Final Death.

I finish by telling her of my plan to hopefully curb this behavior in the future. "I am hoping that by giving him a good scare that he will be 'scared straight' as they say." She has tears in her eyes, but she is nodding as I speak.

"I don't usually give second chances, but because this is Sookie's brother and I am taking her wants into account I realize that the best bet will be to take this course of action where he is concerned. I have to warn you both though, if he messes up again I will not be able to help him, I'm stretching the truth and the law both to their limits as it is, I won't be able to intervene on his behalf again, which is ultimately why I agreed to tell you all of this because I feel you may be able to help him stay out of trouble and It's only fair to Sookie if I give him every advantage towards staying clean." The chances of him staying out of trouble are so slim... I will undoubtedly have to deal with him again, which means I will have to kill my new pet's brother, so best to get them to try their best to keep him straight. He seems like a trouble magnet so I at least hope that by the time he gets into trouble again I have completed the first three Marks with Sookie.

She sniffles softly before straightening her spine and holding her head high, "I appreciate your kindness and will do my best to help, but that boy has never listened to anyone, so it may be futile, but family doesn't give up on each other so Sookie and I will try to help him. Is there anything else I need to know?"

She is very perceptive; I will have to remember that. "If it's alright with you Mrs. Stackhouse, I would like Sookie to come stay with me this evening, you don't have appropriate accommodations for me and we really need to start the Blood Bond and I would like an opportunity to get to know her better, so far most of what I know is what others have told me about her and while everything I've been told seems accurate I still prefer to form my own opinions.

"Yes I suppose that is important, especially when choosing a lifelong companion." She knows more than I'm comfortable with. I'll have to be careful with her. "Sookie are you comfortable staying with Mr. Northman?"

Sookie looks nervous, but she smiles and nods as she replies, "Yes Gran. You don't mind do you?"

"Of course not, dear why don't you go pack some things for your stay, I'll keep Eric company while you're upstairs."

Sookie gets up, kisses her Gran on the cheek and bounces up the stairs.

I turn my attention to Mrs. Stackhouse as I sense she has something to say to me out of Sookie's ear shot. I am right. "Eric, I appreciate your candor and honesty, but there is something you're not telling us and I'd like to ask you what it is. I feel it's important, but not something we would necessarily consider bad, so please be straight with me."

I look Adele in the eyes, this is a woman that deserves my respect AND their opinion of me is well enough that telling her about the marks might actually help my cause, "OK, fair enough. I intend to give Sookie the Five Marks when I Blood Bond to her." I say seriously.

She nods, "And what do these Five Marks mean, what do they do?"

I collect my thoughts for a moment before answering her as honestly as I can, "Well first the Queen isn't powerful enough to give her the Marks, though she probably wouldn't anyways.

Ultimately it will link my life force with Sookie's; to kill one of us would drive the other mad until they killed everyone responsible for the other's death and then we would join them in death.

It is a risk to me, it makes Sookie a very real weakness for me, but she'll also have my abilities and strengths, so ultimately the two who are Marked are as strong as the strongest one of the pair.

It involves five Mutual Blood Exchanges in addition to the three required to Blood Bond. Three of the Marks are called Meldings; The First Mark essentially prepares the couple for the Three Meldings.

The Second Mark is a physical melding, it links our bodies, essentially giving her my abilities and me her abilities, though I don't know if that will include her Telepathy. Honestly I'm more worried about her being able to defend herself or flee quickly, I don't foresee myself leaving her by herself, but I must plan for every contingency.

The Second Melding is the Third Mark; it's a Spiritual Melding it's the one that will tie our lives to each other, making it impossible for one to exist without the other.

And the Third Melding is the Fourth Mark and is a Mind Meld. Basically we'll have no secrets, this is one of the reason's I believe The Queen wouldn't Mark her even if she could. I realize that Sookie is ultimately trustworthy and I'm essentially going to entrust her with my life just as she is entrusting me with her life. I think that only fair. It will level the playing field for both of us.

And the Fifth Mark closes off the Meldings and sort of seals it.

We'll be able to mind Meld at will after that without a blood exchange so if we're in trouble we can touch and the other will know everything the other knows. It could prove very useful, since my instincts are telling me that the Queen will not stop till she gets what she wants which means I'll have to kill her AND her Children and take over her Kingdom. Honestly I'm surprised it's taken this long for her to betray my trust. I've been her Sheriff for 254 years. She's been Queen of Louisiana Longer than Louisiana's been part of the US. She got here 3 years before I did when the French held the Territory the first time. And she held the Kingdom together through the Spanish gaining control of the Territory then the French getting it back in 1800 and then the US buying it from the French for 15 million in 1803.

Anyways, The Marks will ultimately make us stronger, strong enough to take over; strong enough to do what has to be done to keep us both alive." I don't mention that by Bonding to her first I will ultimately be able to control Sookie. There will be no risk involved in giving her the last two Marks as I will already have firm control over Sookie.

She gives me a very stern look and asks, "And why don't you plan to tell my Granddaughter what you intend to do?" She doesn't let me answer. "Thus far I've been impressed with your honesty. Continue to give us your honesty and I guarantee Sookie will give you her heart one day soon. You can have all the happiness you've ever dreamed of having and everything you never dared dream of, if only you're honest with her. Tonight when the two of you are talking tell her about the Marks. She will see it as the strength you do as well AND she'll be touched that you consulted her first. Goddess Knows no one ever consults that child before they do what they want. BE the first and you will be her last and only. Be completely honest and you will be unstoppable… together!"

My instincts are screaming at me to listen to this wise old woman who is not even a tenth of my age, though she may be far wiser than I'll ever be.

"Thank you for your Wisdom, I will speak with her about it before I take action." I pause then continue softly, "I hope you understand how difficult this is for me, I never tell anyone anything I always make all the decisions WITHOUT consulting ANYONE, except maybe my Maker and I haven't consulted him since before I became Sheriff. But I will endeavor to give you both the honesty you request of me." Within reason I finish silently.

I can hear Sookie bouncing back down the steps just before she reenters the kitchen. "Gran do you need me to do anything for you before I go? Did you do the wash I can fold it for you. I know how hard the bending over is for your back…" She's worrying her lip between her teeth as she looks between us curiously, "Am I interrupting? I can go back upstairs if you're not done!"

I look at Adele, "I believe we are both on the same page now, yes?"

Adele nods to me and pulls her granddaughter to her for a hug and a kiss before we leave. "You listen to everything he has to say before you pass judgment, just like I taught you, OK?"

"Sure Gran, you OK?" Sookie looks worried.

"I'm fine dear; you go find your place in the world. I'll be here if you need a shoulder to cry on or a safe place to hide away from your troubles, for a time. But you stick close to this Vampire and you'll be fine. He didn't get to be 1227 years old by accident so you mind him, you hear?"

"I will, you have a good night Gran, I'll call you tomorrow after I wake up," she looks at me, "If that's OK?"

I laugh, "That is more than fine Sookie, I'm not holding you prisoner." I pause as I remember our plan from the car and continue, "which reminds me, Adele, if I think there is a threat to you would you be willing to temporarily relocate while I deal with the problem we spoke of earlier? I know if it becomes an issue your safety will be paramount to Sookie and therefore to me as well."

She nods and wishes us a goodnight as she gets up to leave the room with one more hug and kiss for Sookie, just before she passes through the doorway I ask her, "One more thing, if Sookie and I deem it imperative to all of our safety would you be willing to be glamoured in such a manner that you will know everything we told you tonight, but that you won't be able to share it with anyone even if they try to glamour it out of you?"

She nods again slowly and says, "Yes, Of course." Then she leaves the room.

Sookie turns to me, "That was weird! It was almost like she was in a trance." That's when I realize I never told Adele how old I am. I haven't told anyone exactly how old I am EVER; so far as I know my Maker is the only other one who knows when I was Born and Turned. Strange.

Sookie and Adele both have a unique scent to them; I even notice it on Jason a bit though not as much. I wonder what they are AND I wonder if Adele will tell me if I ask, I have a feeling Sookie doesn't know based on her reaction to the Shifter's announcement of what he can do. And I'm fairly certain that Sookie gets at least some of her gifts from Adele.

And am I remembering correctly, did she say 'Goddess knows'. I nod to myself as Sookie folds the last of the laundry in the dryer and places it in the basket on top of the washer. She did, I know she did, I have photographic memory and perfect recall so I'm not remembering it incorrectly. Curiouser and curiouser.

Once Sookie is done on the porch I watch as she turns off the lights in the house and locks up as we exit. She has two small bags with her and they are both zipped closed, which will work best for what I have planned next. "Sookie hold your bags up to your chest, but first loop your arms through the handles."

She looks at me curiously, but does as I tell her then she squeaks out a protest as I sweep her up into my arms. Her bags are lying in her lap and her arms instinctively go around my neck so all is secure.

I whisper in her ear, "Hold on tight." And I slowly begin to levitate off the ground once she realizes what's happening her arms tighten around my neck and she sticks her face in the crook of my neck.

I hear her mumble into the column of my throat that she doesn't like heights. To which I reply, "you can't fall if you can fly."

She replies hurriedly, "I CAN'T fly."

So I calmly say to her "I promise not to drop you. Besides it's been nearly 950 years since I flew into anything while in flight."

She giggles at that and asks what I hit. "Flock of geese." To which she laughs out loudly.

"It wasn't funny at the time, I was finding feathers for days afterward I had them everywhere.

I tell her some other little stories that mostly make fun of myself while I fly us to my home, the home no one else, not even my Child, has been to since it was remodeled. I certainly never took any of the Vermin home with me. At most I would take them to a safe house Pam and I use for just such occasions, but lately I haven't even bothered leaving my office. I haven't even gotten naked with a nightly conquest in months, Goddess almost six months I think, at most I pull my dick out of my pants and fuck them fast and hard. I can control when I climax and lately I've been doing it quickly so as to get rid of them the sooner. Honestly it says something when a GUY gets bored with SEX. I'm hoping sex will be fun again with my new pet. Just holding her is more exciting than the last two months worth of lover's I've had combined.

I softly ask her, "Do you want to see the view or are you better off not looking at all?"

She turns her head and peaks out from under my chin. "WHOA, pretty! It's so peaceful up here if I don't think about how high up we are or how fast we're going!"

I chuckle at that. And slowly begin to lower us towards a clearing in the trees where my home sits acre's away from anyone else's home. The Security is state of the art so I land us just outside the fence near a key pad and I punch in the code and then lift off again into the air and over the fence where I land softly. "I'm going to walk the rest of the way there because the system automatically resets after a short time but it's too far for you to walk just yet, so snuggle in and enjoy the ride." I smile at her as she giggles again. I really like that sound AND the fact that I caused her to make it.

She's twisting her head this way and that as I walk us towards the house proper. "I'd slow down and let you enjoy the view but we have things we need to do tonight."

"What exactly are our plans for the rest of the evening?" She kinda sing-songs the words to me. It's unbelievably cute in a way I wasn't aware would affect me, could affect me.

"Well we have to make a list of the food you want my Day-Person to acquire for you and we need to do that at least two hours before sunrise, so he has time to get it and so Pam has time to get here with the food and then back to her day-time resting place before the sun rises… She's over 300 years old so she tends to die for the day about half an hour after the sun rises and she wakes about a half hour before the sun sets. And naturally it's imperative that she get home BEFORE the sun rises. I would be most displeased if she went and died in such an avoidable way."

She's giggling again. "So do you go to rest after the sun rises and wake before it sets too? I assume since you're so much older you probably go to rest later and wake up earlier than this Pam person, who is Pam, by the way?"

Now it's my turn to laugh out loud. "Pam is my Child, I made her Vampire almost 290 years ago, in fact this coming March will be 290, though she was 21 when I Turned her. She was practically considered a spinster, she kept refusing the men who asked her father for permission to court her till her father finally put down his foot and demanded that she marry some boring twit who would have in a couple of years stifled what little life she had managed to hang on to up until her wedding. I met her two weeks before the blessed event and I courted her in secret every night when she went to bed and the night before her Wedding Day I drained her and fed her my blood and left her in her bed for her family to find in the morning."

"Um wouldn't they have seen the bite marks and known what was up?" She asks a very intelligent question.

"My blood or all my fluids really, have healing properties, so when I fed her my blood the bite marks healed so they had no idea how she died. I glamoured several people to ensure that they didn't cut into her to try to find out the why's and how's of her death and she was buried the next day and two days later I came and dug her up and whisked her away to London." I think back on those days fondly, she was a spitfire back then; she still is really, well for everyone but me anyways.

"Did she want to become a Vampire?" My Sookie asks quietly.

"I asked for her permission. She probably had no clue the realities of being a Vampire, but I did ask for her permission. She was so eager to get out of that life that she grabbed hold and when she woke up three nights later she never looked back. She has always enjoyed being a Vampire. She's a very good Vampire; I chose well. She is my ONLY Child so I was nervous when I turned her. I had heard horror stories about Masters having to stake their Children because they didn't come over right. She came over perfectly. Now I realize that those Children that were staked by their Masters' were probably not right in the head when they were Human either. My Maker taught me well though, so naturally I chose the perfect Child.

She's quiet when I finish speaking, but I can sense an urgency in her. "What's the matter Princess? I didn't tell that story to upset you."

"I'm not upset, I just, well, I meant it… when I said I don't want to be a Vampire."

Ah she is worried I will go back on my word and honestly who can blame her she only met me hours ago. I try to reassure her without actually having this conversation right now. "I know you meant it and I meant my promise. I have…"

She interrupts me, "But I'm gonna grow old and die that won't be fun for you or for me to watch you stay young." She has tears in her eyes.

I kiss her cheek and tell her honestly, "I have a way around that; I was planning to talk to you about it after we did all the things we have to do. So let's wait and discuss this when we're inside, OK?"

She sniffles softly, but nods her head. I kiss the top of her head and increase my speed.

She gasps as the house comes into view. "Welcome to Longmeadow." I say proudly. It is the epitome of a Southern Plantation House. I actually bought the land in 1761 and then again a year later when Spain took over the Territory and again in 1800 when the French reclaimed the Territory and finally I bought it in 1804 after the Louisiana Purchase Treaty was ratified by Congress. Since then it has been passed down through the 'generations', the 'oldest son' inherits it every 40 or so years, though I only lived on this land every 80 years or so. I had the current house built in 1823. In 1956 when the Supes decided that Vampires would be coming out in the next 50 years I returned to the home and I've lived here ever since. I had it seriously updated and modernized last year. New electrical wiring, a new bigger water heater, modernized kitchen, state of the art Entertainment systems in practically every room. Everything is now energy efficient and green for the most part. I like leaving the smallest carbon imprint I can, especially considering how long I've existed. Though I suppose building a house right up against a mountain isn't really leaving a small imprint. The house is built into the mountain. I had thought about doing an underground chamber in the usual sense of it being under the house, but with the elevation of the State so far below sea level I felt it was more practical to build into a mountain, or really it's a hill, but whatever. The point is the house looks like a regular house on the side of a mountain but if you go far enough into the house you will technically be below ground. All the windows are specially made so the UV light doesn't get into the house so I can be anywhere in the house during the daylight hours and not be harmed, but my resting chambers are in the mountain.

I hear Sookie whisper, "It's even more beautiful than Tara." I am confused for a moment until I remember that movie Pam dragged me to see. The Plantation in that movie was called Tara. Hhhuhhh Sookie's a 'Gone With The Wind' fan. I suppose most southern girls are at some point in their lives.

I will have to keep in mind that she is a Southern Belle at heart. That piece of information may come in handy in the future. It is refreshing though that her intent is so pure, though I can't tell you why I care about her intent. My intent is the only one that should matter. I am finding that it does matter but not the way I originally thought. My intentions seem to be shifting to something else entirely with each conversation I have with this woman. And I am not entirely comfortable with these changes, but I have not lived this long without learning to adapt to any given situation.

I will have to examine this in more detail later, for now I place Sookie's feet on the cement by the pool as I walk towards the side door. I unlock the door with my key. After the door is open I sweep my arm towards the inside of the house and say, "Ladies first." After she enters I quickly walk over to a keypad on the wall and punch in the security code.

Her eyes are big as she takes it all in. I will show her around the outside of the house tomorrow night after the sun sets and I tell her so. "For now I will show you the inside of the house and tomorrow night I will show you the rest of the grounds, including all the out buildings, though you are free to explore on your own tomorrow when you come out to sunbathe."

So I show her the kitchen and the den as well as the bathroom by the den. I stop below five steps and then as I open the door at the top I say, "This is my Library. It takes up most of the first and second floors."

Her eyes get enormous as I switch on the lights and motion her through the hatch for lack of a better word. "The room is built into the mountain and is elevated and water tight to prevent water damage if there is a flood. It was originally more than one room. But when I moved back here in the Fifties I had walls torn down and I turned the rather large Ballroom and the sitting rooms off of it into the Library. I moved a large percentage of my book collection here after that. I have a few more homes around the world and they each have extensive Libraries but this is definitely the largest and most complete. You may read any book you like, they are arranged by subject and then author much in the same way a Public or School Library would be arranged. The computer over there has a catalog of all the books, so you can look them up by subject, author, and even key words or the date. They're not all in English, actually only the later books are in English, but that won't be an issue for very long." I do not go into detail about what exactly I mean by that.

Once I Mark her she will know everything I know including all the languages I know. And I read, write and speak fluently in just about every language in existence today and quite a few dead languages including ones scholars aren't even aware of. It will take a while for her brain to absorb all the information in my mind, but once she does she will be a powerhouse just like me. It's a risk, Marking her, but my gut is telling me this is the right way to go. In all these years my instincts haven't led me astray yet so I will continue to trust them even if I am way, WAY out of my comfort zone with this woman-child.

"I will show you the upstairs after we make your list and then I will show you the back of the house."

***************************9*************************************

**SPOV**

The house itself looks bigger than old Mrs. Bellefleur's home and it looks like it's built into the side of a Mountain so it may actually be even bigger than it looks. The pool is on the side of the house as we approach. We go through the door which leads into a kitchen that would put Julia Child's to shame. Gran used to watch her show on TV way before the Food Network and I always thought she had the coolest kitchen, but this…. This is amazing. I hope I get to cook in it at some point. Next he shows me the den and a bathroom then leads me to a small set of stairs and then to the door.

"This is my Library. It takes up most of the first and second floors." He says as he opens the door and turns on the lights. I have to step through a door that looks like it belongs on a Navy Ship, but HOLY SHIT! It's bigger than Gran's whole house. He tells me that he had it enlarged to include the old ballroom and some other rooms. This is apparently a "Large percentage" of his whole collection of books and it's built into a mountain _and_ it's water tight. WOW! He invites me to read any of the books I like. Then he comments about them not all being in English but cryptically says that won't be a problem for very long, what does THAT mean?

I want to question him but he continues. "I will show you the upstairs after we make your list and then I will show you the back of the house." And he leads me back towards the kitchen. He goes into what I assume is the pantry and comes back with a pen and paper. "Write out what you need for tomorrow's meals and later we can discuss what to do about the rest of your meals from now on."

I take the pen and pad from him and think for a moment. I write down frozen blueberries, plain Greek Yogurt (which I read about in a magazine earlier this year and absolutely fell in love with when I tried it), I add Egg Beaters to the list and some tomatoes and spinach, mushrooms, black olives and some bell peppers I make a note to get enough for an omelet and a salad later in the day and another snack. I also put down Hummus and cucumbers. What to have for dinner. I tap the pen against my chin while I think. I don't cook a lot of meat; I only eat it when Gran cooks it really, so that's out of the question. I write down some frozen ravioli's. The ravioli's and the salad should be good enough for dinner. I hand him the list and ask, "Is that OK? Oh can I add some juice to it?" when he says yes I tell him, "Orange, Pomegranate and Grape please, I like to mix the three."

"Anything else before I call my day man?" He asks patiently.

"Uh, maybe some fruit… I like most fruit so whatever is available will be good. Oh and I think the ravioli's require olive oil." I look out the windows at the huge pool and think about what it'll look like in the daylight while he makes his call. I'm nervous. I've never really been alone with a man, not since Uncle Bartlett, and that stopped when I was eight. I don't think Eric will push for anything I'm not ready to give, but still I'm alone in the guys house when I only met him a few hours ago and now it looks like I'm going to be living here soon. I've only ever lived with Gran and Jason and of course my parents before that. Not to mention I'm gonna have to share my blood with him tonight and if I understand the process correctly I'm going to have to ingest some of HIS blood. I wonder what that'll be like, and I wonder how it's different from V. I'll have to ask, cuz I don't want to end up like Jason in that respect.

"Sookie?" I'm startled out of my thoughts by Eric placing his hand on my shoulder. "You're making this face I can't read. What is troubling you?"

In for penny, in for a pound. "I have to drink your blood right?"

He moves to the chair beside me and sits as his hand moves to cover mine. It feels like an electric charge where he touches me. "Yes, we'll mutually exchange to start the Bond."

"How is that different than Jason taking V? I don't want to be like him and get addicted." I nervously bite my lip.

*************************************9***************************

**EPOV**

Should I tell her? Her Grandmother said to be honest and I will get everything I ever wanted and more. So… "To be honest Sookie, I plan to exchange blood with you every night for the rest of our lives; maybe even more than once a night. And the truth is you WILL get addicted with long term exposure, but it, well… I guess now is a good time to explain about the plan to avoid you growing old and dying…"

She sits up a little straighter and I can tell I have her full attention now, not that I didn't before but now she looks like she's trying to memorize everything I say. "I wish to give you the Five Marks. I will explain what they are in a minute, but they each require a Mutual Blood Exchange. After the Five Marks are complete you will be able to drink my Blood without risking you accidentally Turning. It's unlikely it would happen after we Blood Bond, but it has happened from time to time. I have heard of Five Blood Bonds accidentally Turning, now keep in mind that that's Five accidental Turns in 1,200 years. But I promised your Gran I would be honest with you so I want you to know that it is possible." Hopefully this little fact will help convince her of the need for the Marks.

"That said The Five Marks will bind our lives together. You would be much harder to kill and you would completely stop aging. The only way you could die if I've Marked you is to be killed in an accident or by someone else's hand.

If one of us were to die, the other would go mad with grief and probably kill everyone involved and then follow the other in Death.

The Second Mark would share our abilities. I don't know if I'd get your Telepathy, but I'm fairly certain you'd be able to fly and have my speed and strength as well as my heightened senses, but the heightened senses may just be from continued exchanging of blood.

The Third Mark is a Spiritual Melding that's the Mark that would make us unable to live without the other.

We would know everything the other knows after the Fourth Mark. This is the one I'm most nervous about. I'm old and I have a lot of secrets, things no one, not even my Maker knows. I'm not sure how I feel about you knowing all my secrets, but I think the benefits of exchanging the Marks far outweigh the risks. I…"

She interrupts me and when I look at her I realize she's crying, "I have secrets too, probably nowhere near as many as you. They probably wouldn't put my life at risk for you to know them either, but they are mine and I haven't shared some of them with anyone, EVER. So if we do this, know that you won't be the only one with their secrets exposed for the other to see. I promise I won't tell anyone your secrets if we do this. Plus, I can't be glamoured, so they wouldn't be able to force it out of me that way."

I whisper, "That's not the only way to force you to tell someone what you know."

She whispers back, "I know, but you'll protect me from being hurt, so that won't be an issue, right?"

I nod as I reach up and wipe her tears from her face. I still want to lick them, but I refrain for the moment.

She closes her eyes at my touch and takes a deep breath. I feel the energy between us even with just a small brush of my fingers against her cheek.

She breaks the silence, "So, anything else I need to know about these Marks? What's the Fifth one do? Oh and what does the first one do? You told me two, three and four, but not the first one."

She is very observant. This will serve us well in the future and I tell her so, at which she blushes furiously. I tear my eyes away from the blush running down her neck into the shirt she's wearing and try to answer her question, but I'm having difficulty focusing on anything other than that blush. I want to see how far down it goes.

I shake my head and answer her questions, "The first Mark really just prepares us for the rest of them. If I understand it correctly it'll make our bodies, minds and souls capable of accepting the other Four Marks. The Fifth Mark is sort of a sealing of sorts. It closes the Marks and makes them permanent."

I pause for a moment to gather my courage. I've never offered someone what I'm about to offer to her. I'm surprised that it's making me nervous, but it feels like the right thing to do, so… hopefully I've played this right too. "Will you allow me to Mark you?" I'm holding my breath again. I guess I still haven't lost some of my Human habits, even after a Millennium on this Earth. I never noticed that before.

She looks just as nervous as I feel. "Um, is there a time limit on it? Like the Blood Bonding, I mean, do we have to decide right away or… It's not that I'm opposed to it, cuz I'm not, opposed to it that is, but I just met you tonight and I don't want to make the wrong decision, you know?"

I smile at her to try to ease her nervousness. "You will be safer once the Marks are in place in terms of other Vampires trying to acquire you so essentially the time limit is the same as the Blood Bonding. Though we can't start the Marks till after the Blood Bonding is complete and that will take at least tonight, but probably tomorrow night too. So, No, you don't have to decide tonight." I pause and then continue with a new ploy, "But you should think about it while I'm at rest today, because it will basically make both of us safer. I…"

She interrupts again, "How does it make YOU safer?" She's clearly shocked by this discovery. But I knew her soft heart would latch onto this fact.

"If we Blood Bond the only way for someone else to take you from me is to kill me. If we are Marked then killing me would cause you to go mad and kill them all anyways. So ultimately giving you the Marks protects me more than the Blood Bond would by itself. Although if we are Blood Bonded you would be within your rights to kill anyone that killed me, but then you would still be available to be taken by someone else. You'd have none of my strengths permanently, so even if you could keep the sharks at bay for awhile, it really would just be a matter of time before someone managed to acquire you through force and they would be able to Turn you if they wish. If I Mark you it will be physically impossible to Turn you. It really would be safer for both of us in the long run."

"OK If it keeps us both safer then I'm willing to do it" I'm surprised by the conviction with which she says this, but I nod and thank her, though that seems inadequate.

I go to stand as I ask, "Why don't I show you the rest of the house and then we can do the first Blood Exchange."

She looks nervous again. "Sookie, it won't hurt. In fact our bites are rather pleasurable."

"It's not that." She says softly. "You said earlier tonight that I have to share your bed… I'm not… I haven't… I'm scared. I 'm not very experienced… you know, with guys. I've never even been kissed. Not a real kiss any way. I've been pecked on the lips or the cheek, but not a real kiss. Now I have to share your room and… what exactly is expected of me?"

She's never been kissed? Well Shit I don't know whether to be happy or sad about that. On the one hand it means I will be her first and only for EVERYTHING! On the other hand it's sad that she's gone this long without someone paying her the attention she deserves.

I feel talking about this here might ease her mind more than if we discuss this later so I sit back down and softly pick up her hand in mine. "Sookie, the stupidity of the men in your town baffles me."

I shake my head to clear my thoughts. "Sookie, I'm not going to lie, exchanging blood is very sensual and quite frankly sexual for Vampires, me especially. That said I do not expect you to have sex with me tonight. And quite frankly I'm willing to wait as long as necessary for that. It won't be as much fun for me if I force you to do something you're not ready for. But I will probably kiss you tonight. Of course now I know to make it a particularly good kiss so you'll always remember your first kiss." I smile at her and she smiles back.

"I will probably touch you tonight, in places I assume you haven't been touched before. But I will…" I stop my sentence when I realize she looks terrified, suddenly. She's gone very pale and her hand is shaking in mine. This is not the normal reaction a woman would have to my statement even if she IS a virgin.

I don't think she's breathing, "Sookie, breath." I relax a little as she takes a big deep breath and seems to calm almost instantly. "What just happened?" I ask softly so as not to startle her again.

She has tears in her eyes again, "I… one of my secrets, I… I'm scared I won't like it. I didn't like it when… I just…" She's starting to hyperventilate.

One of her secrets…? She didn't like it when…? SHIT! Someone hurt her and I suddenly feel like killing something. "Sookie I want you to breathe in through your nose slowly and then exhale through your nose, can you do this for me?"

To her credit she's trying but she's turning red. I suddenly push back my chair and stand as I push her chair away from the table and I gently push her head towards her knees as I softly say, "It's OK Sookie. No one's going to hurt you…"

"I only like it when it hurts." She says between gasps. "When I… when I touch… it only feels good… when it hurts. I'm defective."

OK this is good news and bad. "Sookie, you are not defective. Some people only like it when it hurts. That does NOT mean you are defective. It just means you are a Masochist. Which to be honest is a good thing because I am a Sadist." She sits up at that so I hurry to continue, "I will help you to explore this, but what I meant by 'no one will hurt you', is that I won't do anything to you that you don't want me to do." She goes pale again at this statement so I rush to finish my thought, "If you say stop I will stop. In fact from here on out if you don't like something I'm doing, if you can't handle it, I want you to say 'Red Light" OK? And if you want me to slow down I want you to say "Yellow Light". Those are your safe words, OK? You say 'Red Light' and I will immediately stop what I'm doing." She seems to be calmed by this.

I sit back down. Now that she seems calmer I have to ask, "Sookie, who… who hurt you?"

She shudders, then whispers so softly I almost miss it, "My uncle Bartlett"

I whisper back as I take hold of her hand again "How old were you?"

"It started when I was four or so I guess and it stopped when I was eight, almost nine." I want to pull the man's fingernails off one at a time and feed them to him.

"Did he hurt you or…?" I don't know how to ask what I want.

"No he didn't physically cause pain, it was more emotional. I could feel his emotions and hear his thoughts. He always thought horrible things. I finally told Gran when I heard him think that he was going to… well, he wanted to have sex with me that night, so I told Gran and she kicked him out."

She pauses then continues a little more firmly, "I only found out about the pain thing when I got a little older. I…" she's bright red now, "I was trying to, well it felt better when I twisted hard and I experimented after that. There wasn't much I could do with Gran down stairs, but I know I like the pain. I can't…" She's a deep red now, "I can't you know, cum without it. Usually I just use clothespins and I have two hard round rubber brushes that I've used, bristles in. I have two sizes, but mostly I can only get the little one in. I always wanted to get the bigger one in, but I was afraid. And I can't believe I'm telling you all this… I… I need… I…" She stands up and tries to leave the room, but I hold on tight to her hand.

I stand and gently take her into my arms, "Sookie, I'm happy you told me. I need to know these things, maybe not right now, but in the near future I will. When I touch you I want you to like it. If you don't tell me what you like, how will I know if I'm doing something right or wrong? Also I need to know about your uncle, so I can be sure not to do anything that will cause you to flash back to that time. I will get off causing you pain, but I will never do anything to permanently damage you and that includes emotionally too, not just physically. I will get no pleasure from reminding you of what that Monster did to you!" I want to ask her for more information about him so I can hunt him down and torture him. I don't want to further upset her though and I've gotten the pertinent information from her already, so I will wait till we have done the Marks, then I will know all I need to know.

"If I promise to not try to have sex with you tonight will you be comfortable with me touching you?" I'm hoping she says yes because I'm not sure I can feed from her without touching her.

She exhales deeply. I can feel her warm breath through my shirt. "I think so. That way I can see if I like it without worrying that you're gonna want more than I can give you tonight"

I squeeze her slightly and then let go. I take her hand and after motioning for her to grab her bags I lead her into the house. We walk passed the den to the stairs. I lead her up two flights of stairs and into a sitting room. There are two doors in this room, one leads to a bathroom the other door is secured by a key pad, and retinal and hand scanners, with a voice recognition program. I lead her to this door and open the panel in the wall that has the scanners and key pad. I enter my password then scan my eye and hand, finally I say, "I am Eric The Norseman, my voice is my password." Then I punch a couple more keys and then I have Sookie pick a pass code and then help her scan her eye and her hand and then I instruct her to say, 'I am Sookie Stackhouse my voice is my password.'

Then I exit the set up program and open the door. "This way you can come and go as you please, so you won't be stuck up here while I am at rest. I'm sure you're looking forward to lounging out by the pool later today!"

"I am, but honestly right now I'm tired… Humans usually sleep about now, ya know?"

"We'll start the Blood Bond then you can sleep and I will see to my business in my office. I will probably still be up once you wake…"

She interrupts me, "Hey you never did tell me when you go to sleep and when you wake up."

I chuckle "You are correct I did not tell you." I pause as if that's all I'm going to say on the matter and she pouts, which I must say is really rather appealing. I laugh again and kiss her forehead, "I only sleep about four hours a day. So I'm usually up till 11am or noon and then I sleep until about 3 or 4pm… I am capable of staying awake for a number of days straight without it affecting me, but generally I sleep just for something to do. I have not however slept in five days, so I will definitely be sleeping today."

*****************************************9***********************

**SPOV**

He leads me into the suite. It's almost as big as the Library, and it also consists of two floors. He points to a door on the left, "That's my office and a mini Library… basically it's got the books I use the most, though I do change them out every now and then."

He then takes me passed the easy chairs and couches to the far side of the room and leads me up the stairs to the loft, which actually circles the entire floor below. He points towards the other side. "The entertainment center is over there on that side. Over here is the closet," He opens the door to reveal a room almost as big as Gran's Kitchen. That's his closet, it's huge!

He turns and says, "Why don't you grab your night clothes and change into them, the bathroom is through that door." He starts to take off his jacket and then his shirt so I hurry into the bathroom with my bags.

I quickly change into my night shirt. I picked the longest shirt I have when I was packing but let's be honest I think I would need full body armor to keep Eric from touching me. That scares me, as I told him, but it also excites me in ways I never knew were possible. But, what if I don't like it? What if it just brings up bad memories? What if I can't EVER have sex? I'm surprised to find that I WANT to be able to have sex, so maybe that's a step in the right direction. I wash my hands after I pee and then I brush my teeth. How long does it take him to change do you think? Have I stalled long enough? I take my pony tail down and brush my hair then I figure I've given him long enough to change, so I crack the door open and peek out. What I see nearly takes my breath away. He didn't change! He just took off his shirt, shoes and socks and is now lying on his bed in nothing but those jeans. I'm gonna have dreams about those jeans I can tell and that chest. HOLY SMOKE! OK, Sookie get it together, you can handle this. So I grab my bags and my clothes and walk out into his bedroom.

"I only use half the closet so you can put your stuff in there for now. I'll make room for your stuff in the drawers and such later." He's lying on his back with his arms bent so his hands are under his head and his elbows are resting on the sides of his head. I want to lick the crevices where all his muscles are. I jerk at that thought. Where did THAT come from? I hurry into the closet and try to clear my head while I hang my clothes up. Finally I work up my courage and exit the closet. I stand at the side of the bed looking at him. He's so beautiful.

He smiles at me as though he knows what I'm thinking and reaches his hand out to me. "Come lay down with me Sookie." I know he sees the tremble of my hand as I reach to take his hand in mine.

I slowly climb up on the bed and I'm slightly startled by how soft the blanket he's lying on feels. It's some kind of fur, probably real. I just want to lay down on it and fall asleep, but I know we have things we need to take care of first. "So, um, how do we do this?" I ask nervously.

His only response is to pull on my hand until I'm practically lying on top of him. This of course just makes me even more nervous. I place my hand on his chest to try to push away a little but he just wraps his arm around my waist which would worry me, but part of me, a very large part, is distracted by the feel of him under my hand. I've never touched a man, not since Uncle Bartlett. I know he felt the shudder that goes through me.

He leans up towards me and whispers in my ear. "I'm not him. I won't hurt you. All you have to do is say stop and I stop. OK?"

"I'm sorry I just… I was marveling at the feel of your chest and I realized that I've never touched a man before and then I realized that I had just not…"

His hand strokes my back. "It's OK Sookie, I got you. You can touch me all you want, but only if YOU WANT. You're in control here. You get the last word on how far we go and I'm OK with that. Honestly I haven't had much fun in the sex department as of late, so whatever we do now will undoubtedly be better than the empty liaisons I've been involved in recently. I get more pleasure just from holding you like this than I have in a long time." I'm looking into his eyes as he says this and I feel like I can see his soul. I believe him. And just like that I relax onto him and put my head under his chin while my hand traces circles on his chest.

"Thank you." I whisper softly.

His hand continues to stroke my back. "I should have told you to keep your underwear on. I want… I want to exchange blood from directly over the heart. It'll make the Bond stronger, but I don't want to let go of you so you can go put your bra back on. Do you have panties on?"

I nod my head against his shoulder. "Mh hm."

"Will you let me see you without the bra on, or do I need to let you up, it's completely your choice, though admittedly I will prefer if we do it without your bra on." He chuckles darkly and the sound shoots straight down my spine and rests in my belly.

I really don't want to get up. I'm comfortable where I am. Am I brave enough to take off my top and only have my panties on? The answer surprisingly is yes. I can do this. So I say, "I'm OK without the bra on."

"Not that I'm trying to get you to change your mind, because really I'm not, but you do realize that I will be touching your breasts. I won't be able to help myself. I want to touch you all over and to have your beautiful skin bare before me well I won't want to NOT touch them."

I chuckle slightly and lean up to look into his eyes again, "Are you sure you're not trying to talk me out of it?"

*********************************9*******************************

**EPOV**

I'm really not trying to talk her out of it, I'm immensely pleased that she trusts me enough to do this topless, but I find myself wanting to make sure we're on the same page. It's been 1,200 years since I was in a relationship where I gave the other person full disclosure or as close to it as I can get anyway, but surprising myself I realize I really want to have that with Sookie, so I say, "I'm sure, I just… I promised myself just now that I will give you full disclosure whenever possible, so I'm just making sure we're on the same page."

"Thank you Eric. Rest assured we are on the same page, and apparently the page is topless…" She giggles as she's looking into my eyes. I feel like I can see her soul laid bare before me just as bare as she will be in a few moments.

But first I need to give Sookie her first 'Real' Kiss and I need to make in exceptional. Lucky thing I've had so long to practice. I lean my head towards hers and I see her eyes widen when she realizes my intent. Her eyes flutter closed just as my lips touch hers. After a moment I gently lick her bottom lip which causes her to open her mouth slightly and I take full advantage and gently slip my tongue into her mouth. I trace the contours of her tongue and then move my tongue along the roof of her mouth and then back to her tongue. I do this for what feels like an eternity in Heaven.

When she needs air I slowly pull back dropping little kisses on her lips while she tries to breathe then I dive in for more of her taste. I can't describe her taste, there's something about it that is causing a memory to start to take form, but it's like it just does not want to finish forming. I push the memory away then as I run my hands up and down her sides.

I wish I was on top because I'd be better able to control the space between us for better access to her delectable body, but I figure she's less likely to be frightened if she's on top for now and having her breasts pressing against my chest through her t-shirt is a small price to pay for the pleasure of her kisses.

She may never have kissed someone before but she sure is a quick study. I smile at that thought. That will come in handy in the future. My hands are on her ass now, softly grinding her hips against my erection. I slowly so as not to startle her slide my hands down to the tops of her thighs and then slide them back up taking the back of her shirt with my hands.

Her skin is so soft. I've NEVER felt anything so soft, except maybe my daughter's skin just after she was born, before the fever took her back to the Goddess. I try to push that thought away but the only time I've felt like this was with Áfríðh and now with Sookie. I try to push these thoughts aside, now is not the time to be thinking about the past I should be thinking about my future… OUR Future.

I slowly pull the bottom of her shirt up and over her head but I leave it attached to her arms for the moment as my hands return to her back, softly, gently stroking her.

UGH I want to flip us over, but I don't know how she'd react. But then she's pulling on my arm and pulling me on top of her. THANK YOU FREYJA!

I quickly pull her shirt the rest of the way off and then I'm presented with the most beautiful breasts I've ever seen. Not too small for my hands, but not too big either the perfect size for my big hands. Probably a D or a DD cup, either way just the way I like them big and natural. Though they're big they're also rather perky. They don't feel like they'd sag much when she's standing up. As my hand softly strokes the side of her breast I move my kisses down across her chin and down her throat stopping for a moment at her pulse point.

That smell again and a memory that just doesn't want to completely resurface yet, but I know I've smelled something like this before; I just can't place it yet. It actually feels like I remember the scents of more than one thing and combined they smell like Sookie, it's almost like papaya but that's not the memory that's trying to surface either.

The urge to bite her neck is stronger than I've felt in a long time, but I resist, just barely. I move my kisses down across her collarbone. It doesn't poke out sharply like it does on so many women these days. No. Everything about Sookie is soft, just the way a woman should be so I can sink into her warmth, but no not tonight I tell myself, but someday soon.

My hands are softly massaging her breasts and she's panting, then I remember that she can only get off with pain. I am just the man for THAT mission, so I squeeze with more force. By the time I know it's bordering on painful she's gasping and her arms are trying to pull me closer to her.

I slide my finger of one hand towards her nipple, but stop just shy of it and slowly circle her areola with my finger tip as my tongue does the same to her other breast.

Her nipples turn to nice hard peaks. They stand out farther than I would have thought, but I know with some well placed suction cups and a few well placed piercings I can get them to be even longer AND to permanently stay hard. Oh what fun we will have together, but for now I run my fang up across her nipple and hear her gasp again. So I pull the fang across her other nipple a little harder and again she's trying to pull me closer as she gasps, so again and again I toy with both nipples each time pulling my fang across it harder than the last time.

With each pass across her nipples my tongue quickly follows behind my fang to lick up the blood that escapes her skin. She's gasping and moaning and I think I can make her come from nipple stimulation alone. Just when she's going to come I bite down hard right over her heart and she tumbles over the precipice. And she's vocal about it, which just gets my motor running.

I'm drinking and that stupid memory just won't resurface so I focus on grinding our hips together, I'm sure the force with which I'm grinding is somewhat painful for her, but she's grinding right back. This is the woman for me and then I'm tumbling over the precipice with a shout of my own and I slowly lick the wound above her heart till it seals but don't heal it completely. My blood will do that in a moment.

"UGH I remember why people take their pants off BEFORE they have orgasms, nothing worse than sticky jeans."

She giggles at me and I snap at her nipple playfully. I lean over towards the nightstand and open the top drawer where I put my dagger this afternoon when I woke up, for just this occasion. Sookie's eyes go wide and I smell her arousal get stronger, I'll have to explore that at a later date, but for now, "I'm going to cut as deeply as I can over my heart and I want you to suck on it for as long as I can keep it from healing, OK?"

She nods her head as her eyes watch my hand move the dagger closer to my chest.

I slice as deeply as I can and her hot little mouth is immediately there sucking my blood and I'm ready to come again and just watching her with the little bit of blood that's trickling down her chin, Goddess is that sexy! And I'm coming again harder than the last time.

Although the mess in my pants doesn't feel the best I work on grinding into her hips in such a manner that the crease of my jeans stimulates her clit through her panties. It would likely hurt more if the panties weren't in the way, but this'll do for now.

I reach down to her breasts and start twisting them, slowly twisting harder and harder until she's grunting in time to my twists, though she never stops swallowing my blood. Then I feel the wound heal. I lean down and lick the blood from her chin, and then I'm suckling her nipple into my mouth with as much force as I can and she's coming again screaming my name. Goddess what a lovely sound!

I rest my head on her chest listening to her heart beat and her struggles to get her breathing back under control.

Her fingers are toying with my long hair, Goddess, no one's played with my hair in centuries, of course that's because I wouldn't let them, but still it feels nice lying here with her fingers stroking through my hair over and over.

"Eric?" She's whispering as though she too doesn't want to ruin the moment.

"Yes?" I whisper back just as softly.

She breathes out "I didn't freak out or panic" I can feel her breath in my hair.

I can also hear the wonder in her voice, so I lift my head to look in her eyes before I say, "Princess, what he did to you was unforgivable, but it doesn't have to dictate who you are or what you do or do not enjoy. By taking pleasure in me and giving me pleasure back you have effectively taken back the power he took from you when you were so small. Besides the fact that I just thoroughly enjoyed myself I'm proud of you for having the courage to try. I'm sure it was very scary at first, but you didn't let him control you anymore. You should revel in your new found freedom, you've earned it! Also feel free to do what we just did with me anytime you feel like it!"

She giggles at that last part, which pleases me far more than the tears running down her cheeks as she stares into my eyes. This time I can't resist and I bend down and lick her tears from her face.

Her taste is causing that same niggling feeling that her scent does. I felt it when I bit her and drank and I feel it now as I lick her tears. If I don't figure this out soon I'm going to get cranky. And there is nothing worse than a cranky Vampire, well except for a frustrated cranky Vampire, and while I am more than sexually satisfied at the moment my mind is quickly becoming frustrated with not being able to place the memory.

"Eric? You're squeezing me too hard. What's wrong?" She looks like a scared little girl as she asks that almost as though she thinks whatever is wrong is her fault. I must quickly dispel this belief before it takes root.

"Sorry, I just… I have a memory that won't fully resurface and it's driving me nuts." I pause and she still has that look in her eyes, so I add, "you haven't done anything to upset me Princess, relax, OK you are perfect. But this memory…"

The look is gone so I rest my head back on her chest as she releases a heavy sigh, "What's causing the memory to try to resurface? What's triggering it?"

She is very intelligent and maybe just maybe she can talk me through this. "Your smell and your taste… I remember something about them, but I can't place it. It's like I've smelled a number of things that combined smell and taste just like you, but I can't figure out what it was I smelled or tasted, but it feels important, like I'm missing something important."

"Tell me what I smell and taste like, describe them to me as thoroughly as you can, describe every nuance." She really is brilliant.

"Well I almost think you smell like papayas but slightly sweeter, not as rich, with just a hint of, I don't know cinnamon maybe. Your taste though is very rich; a guy could get spoiled drinking from you every night for the rest of eternity." She giggles and I inhale deeply, the memory is right there… I can almost see it. UGH!

"Tell me all the times you've smelled papayas and cinnamon. Don't leave anything out."

"Well there was this time in Puerto Rico… they grow in groves there and the children climb the trees and pick the fruit and break it open on a rock and the smell permeates the air, just like when…" my eyes grow big I know they do. I kiss her long and hard, "You are brilliant!"

"And an even bigger find than I originally thought. If your cousin smells and tastes half as great as you it's no wonder the Queen wants you. You smell just like these women I met. I think I met the first one around 1376 and then again in 1581 and then the last time was while I was sailing here from what is now Haiti, that was 1755… just before Hurricane season; by the end of the next year I was a Sheriff for the Queen. Anyway if you combine the smells of the three women you almost have your scent, there's just two more elements missing. OH GODDESS! You smell like a Vampire I know too but like what she smells like just under her scent of Vampire."

I roll off of Sookie and she moans in disapproval so I pull her into my side half lying on my chest before I ask my question, "Sookie what do you know of your Heritage?"

She snuggles closer and then replies, "Well my mom was Greek and Irish and my Dad well he's Irish too and I don't really know what else… why? Is it important?" She lifts her head to look at me when she asks that last part.

"I think we need to talk to your Gran tomorrow evening. She smells like one of the women too!"

"What made the women smell that way?" I'm not sure I should be the one to tell her… so I tell her so, to which she pouts. I laugh and tell her, "If your Gran can't answer our questions tomorrow I'll tell you OK, but I really think you need to hear this from her."

She sighs heavily and then replies, "If you say so."

"I do say so." Just then the note's of Shinedown's Devour fills the air. That's the ringer I chose for Pam on my cell phone.

"Hold on a second I have to answer that it's Pam and it's way earlier than I expected her to call so something must have happened." As I'm saying all of this I get up and grab my phone from my Jacket pocket and return to the bed where I lay down and wait for Sookie to re-situate herself over my chest before I answer the phone.

"Speak." Sookie giggles, but I'm more concerned with Pam's news.

"Master, I just got a call from a Vampire named William Compton. He wants to make an appointment for a week from tomorrow regarding moving back into the area. Apparently his last living relative just died and he'd like to take back the old homestead and restore it to its former glory, blah blah blah, pitiful! I just wanted to confirm with you that Wednesday of next week at 9:30pm will be enough time for you to have him investigated." That last part is in case anyone else is listening. I'm famous for doing background checks, VERY thorough background checks on everyone that stays in my Area for more than a week.

So I respond accordingly, "Yes that should be plenty of time; get our investigator on it right away though to ensure we have the information before my meeting with him. Did Compton say when he is expecting to arrive in my Area?"

"I'll call the investigator as soon as we hang up Master. And he said he will be arriving five days hence." She is nothing if not thorough, "I will see you before I go to rest."

"Until then." And we both hang up.

OK this was expected, but that means I have five nights to do what should in an ideal world take at least ten.

This time-line is better than I had hoped for, but still that means we need to do another blood exchange tonight. So I turn onto my side and take Sookie back into my arms, after kissing her for a while I pull away. "The man sent to acquire you for the Queen will be in my Area in five days so that gives us until Sunday to get the Blood Bond and the Marks in place, which means we're going to have to do more than one Exchange tonight." I stroke her cheek with the back of my fingers as I speak.

"Do you not want to?" she's got that scared little girl look in her eyes again.

"Of course I do! I want to do that and so much more as often as possible, but I do not wish to overwhelm you. Blood Bonding is stressful in the best of situations. Sometimes Humans can't handle it if it's done too fast, though if my memories mean what I think they mean, then you should have no problem accepting the Bond or the Marks. Though I am unsure how quickly you will recover from the final Mark I imagine you may be out of commission for a couple of days afterward but that fits our time-line. I want you with me when I meet with Compton and that is not until Wednesday of next week. This way he'll know immediately that you are my Bonded and hopefully that will be the end of it."

"But you don't think it'll be the end of it though do you?" She looks worried.

"No, I don't but I don't want you to worry about that right now. If it comes down to it I will personally see that the Queen cannot harm us in anyway." She pulls me closer to her as I whisper the last words.

"Do you wish to rest for a while or do you prefer to do the next Exchange now? Either will work fine, I don't want you over exhausted on top of everything else."

I can't read the look in her eyes, until it suddenly becomes very determined and her hand is traveling down my chest tracing the lines of my muscles until her hand rests at the top of my jeans. My Jeans that are drying stuck to me. I jump up as I say "Hold that thought Princess." She pouts as I run to the bathroom and turn on the shower to soak my jeans so I can peel my pants off without taking all my hair with them. I quickly rinse off after I get them off and not two minutes later I'm crawling up the bed in nothing but a towel; water dripping off my body and landing on hers as I crawl up her body.

I stop at the juncture between her legs. Should I take off her panties? I know we're not having sex tonight, but there are other things we can do that I'm sure she will enjoy! I figure my best bet is to ask first, so I whisper quietly, "Can I take these off?" She looks worried again but before she can open her mouth I add, "I know we're not having sex tonight, that's not why I want to remove your panties. But there ARE things, other things we can do that might not be outside your comfort zone for the evening. It's OK if you don't want me to, I just want to be clear on what is and is not OK for the evening, OK?"

Her gaze has cleared as I finish talking but she still looks nervous, though nervous like a Virgin not like a victim of trauma. She nods her head and lifts her hips so I can remove her panties. I remove her panties using mostly my teeth, though I do have to use my hand to get them over the roundness of her perfect ass and after I pull them off her feet I kneel back at the end of the bed and I'm staring at the Promise Land. I slowly kiss my way back up to her thighs. I skip over her sex and kiss my way to her breasts where I again lick around her areolas as my fingers do the same to the other breast. Then I'm biting her nipples lightly with flat teeth. I twist my head a little as I bite down progressively harder and harder on each one and her gasps and moans are like music to my ears.

My hand travels across her slightly rounded stomach and down to where I know she really wants me. My fingers stroke over her pubes and then I stroke over the lips of her sex and slowly slide one finger between her lips and rub her from back to front over and over, just light little touches that she obviously wants to be harder since she is bucking her hips up towards my hand. I move back to her front and I find her clit and I rub light circles around it, almost touching it, but not quite. My other hand is now holding her hips still as I torture her some more. I tell her, "Someday, probably someday soon I'm going to take you to get pierced and one of the rings is going to go right here" when I say 'here' I tap my finger on top of her clit and then go back to circling it before randomly tapping it over and over at different intervals; circle round three times, and tap once then circle round 5 times and tap it twice, twice more round and tap it once till she finally cries, "Eric, please?"

"Please what?

"I can't… I don't…" she's panting and near tears.

"Tell me what you want." I say as my finger continues its journey round and round with the occasional tap thrown in for good measure.

"Please, please make it… hurt, please!" She really is crying now so I decide to have mercy on her this once and I take her clit between my forefinger and thumb and twist hard and she's cumming and cumming I give it a few more twists just to draw it out and then I go back to circling her clit over and over.

"Is that what you wanted?

"Oh, oh, yes, YES! Thank you!" she's gasping for breath in between each word.

"Can you go again my little Sookie?" I ask and then watch horrified as she goes completely rigid and then starts pushing me away saying "no please don't" over and over! SHIT I triggered a memory. How do I calm her down? I lean back on my knees and place my hands on top of my knees and say softly, but with some authority. "Sookie, I stopped. You're OK, Princess you're OK" She stops wiggling away but she's looking around like a scared rabbit, so I just keep repeating, "You're OK, it's OK Princess." After a couple of minutes she seems calm and I ask, "Sookie are you OK?"

"I… I… I'm so sorry, I ruined it, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I'm sorry!" I slowly move up the bed and pull her into my arms watching closely for signs of alarm.

"You didn't ruin anything, everything is fine. Can you tell me what triggered the memory?" I ask softly and cautiously.

"He… he used to call me 'his little Sookie' and ask if I liked it while he touched me.

I have that urge to kill again, but first I need to tend to Sookie. "Sookie, now I know not to use those words, OK, it's all right, I won't use them again. You seem to like it when I call you Princess, is that OK?"

"YES! I LOVE it when you call me Princess, I'm not sure why exactly, but I do!" She's still shaking a little.

I lie down against the pillows and pull her down with me, "Why don't you try to sleep? I'll be here when you wake up!"

"Um, can we… I mean… can we try again I don't want to end on that note, I want to end on a good, happy, positive note, please?"

"Sookie, do you really want to try again or are you just offering to please me?" I ask doubtfully. Can she really want to try again?

"I really do want to try, unless you don't want to? I really did ruin it!" She's crying now.

"Sookie, Sookie listen to me you didn't ruin anything, it was unexpected for sure, but I'm positive it was worse for you than it was for me. I want to wait a little while that's all, not long just a half hour so you can calm down a little more. I don't want to rush it and scare you again. That… that reaction from you terrified me, I… I'm not used to being scared, so I guess I need a little time to calm down too, but I promise as soon as we're ready we'll try again OK?" I'm a little surprised at myself for telling her I was scared, though I guess after everything else I've told her tonight I shouldn't be surprised.

"We still have to exchange again." She whispers.

"I know and we will before the sun rises, but first we need to take a breather, I need a breather, just for a minute, OK?"

"OK, just so long as you're not mad and you promise to try again soon."

"Sookie, I'm not mad… I couldn't possibly be farther away from mad right now than I am. Worried is a better word to describe how I feel right now." I kiss her forehead and then whisper, "I promise I'm not mad."

A few minutes later her breathing evens out and I know she's asleep. I reach for the drawer of my nightstand and take out the throw-away phone I keep there and hit 2 on speed dial which will call Pam's untraceable phone.

"Yes, Master?"

"I need you to have the investigator find everything he can on my pet's Uncle, all I know is his name is Bartlett. But I'm not sure what side of the family he's from so I don't know his last name. I want whatever he finds on my desk before sun up today."

"Yes Master. Your day man just delivered food. I will be there shortly with it, do you need anything else?"

"That will be all Pamela." And we hang up.

I wonder if it would help or hurt her to see him be tortured for his crimes. I shall have to approach that subject carefully.

She seems to be resting fitfully. I should wake her.

She screams, "No!" as her eyes pop open and she sits up straight with her hands out in front of her.

"Sookie, are you OK?" I ask softly so as not to spook her further.

"Yesss. I… I dreamt a woman was electrocuting my cousin, Hadley. She was in such pain, and she wasn't enjoying it at all. She's not like me. I probably would have enjoyed it." She's crying again, "I really am defective."

"Sookie you call yourself defective one more time and I will put you over my knee and you won't enjoy it any more than your cousin was, I'll make sure of that." I say authoritatively.

She looks down at her hands and says, "I'm Sorry, Eric. I won't say it again."

"Good. I told you there's nothing wrong with liking pain. It's true that most people don't, but there's nothing wrong with it. Most people don't enjoy inflicting pain, but I do. Is there something wrong with that? I don't think there is. In fact I think you and I are built for each other. We complement each other perfectly. And there is NOTHING defective about THAT!"

"Yes, Sir. OH!" her hand is covering her mouth. She clearly didn't mean to say that out loud, but it's a positive development so far as I'm concerned.

"Now come here." I say as I pull her to lie back on the bed, well, on me mostly, but sort of on the bed. "I want to lay here with you for a little while."

I know that giving each other pleasure will make her feel better, but honestly I'm a little worried about triggering more memories. I hate how that whole thing felt and I wasn't even the one remembering the trauma. I can't begin to imagine how it was for Sookie, both just now and when she was a little girl.

I fully intend to protect her from further traumas, but if I don't try to sex her up again she'll be hurt and think I don't want her, which couldn't be further from the truth. I am beginning to realize that the traumas of her childhood have had long-lasting negative effects on her self-esteem and self-image.

I fully expect to have to keep my word and pull her over my knee for saying she's defective. She's felt that way for so long that she really believes it, so I have my work cut out for me to undo that belief and firm up both her self-esteem AND her self-image. I have to be so assured that she's NOT defective that eventually she'll start to believe me. Changing some ones self-esteem and self-image after this long is far easier said than done.

Her uncle probably said all sorts of horrible things to and about her while he abused her. And her Telepathy couldn't have helped that situation either. NO it's going to take a lot of hard work AND patience to undo what that Bastard did to her. And fact of the matter is it'll never completely go away. She'll always have a little speck of self-doubt in there somewhere.

OK! I've been in countless wars. I've been matched up against one hundred men or more all by myself. Shit Godric and I took out whole armies just the two of us against thousands. So I can sex up one little girl. This will be much easier once I've given her the Fourth Mark because then I'll know everything he said and did to her and I can avoid those things. But for now there are some questions I need to ask her and I have to remember to be gentle about it.

"Sookie, I have some questions I'd like to ask you, about what happened to you when you were younger, so I can avoid inadvertently hurting you like I did earlier."

She goes to interrupt, but I place my finger over her lips, "We both know I didn't mean to do it, but the fact remains something I said caused you pain, the kind of pain I DON'T want to cause you. So I need to take some preventative measures between now and the Fourth Mark, if we're going to be physical before then. And rest assured I definitely want to be physical with you, but I will not unduly put you at risk, so we need to compromise, if you're capable. Can you talk to me about it for a little while? If it gets to be too much you can use your safe words for this too, OK, you say Red light and I stop, OK?"

She sniffles and burrows in closer to me, but she says, "OK Eric. I'll try to talk about it. What do you want to know?"

"Did he ever, well, I don't know how to say it gently, so I'm just going to say it in the most clinical terms I can think of, OK?"

"OK." Her voice shakes a little with that word and it does not escape me that I'm causing her pain again, but I'm hoping to prevent worse pain.

"OK, did he ever insert anything into you; his fingers or a foreign object? I know you said you told your Gran before he could rape you."

"He made me touch him with… with my mouth, but other than that he never put anything inside me. He just touched and rubbed and talked a lot. The worst part was 'hearing' his fantasies of what he wanted to do to me, his thoughts were VERY graphic."

"OK, You're doing great. I've got one more question then we'll stop OK? This one might be tougher though. Can you think of anything else he said to you on a regular basis that might scare you if I'm touching you in an intimate way when I say it? You can think about it for a while if you want, although I'm sure you don't want to think about it, but…"

"It's OK Eric, I understand. This is what people who care about me need to know to protect me like you said. I honestly think it was more the shock of hearing those words again while you were rubbing me. I was so excited the first time when nothing bad happened I think the words just startled me. But really those were the only things he said with any consistency that I can see you saying." She's trying to be strong and I respect her all the more for it.

"You understand that I'm a sexual sadist? I'm likely to call you names, names I wouldn't call you in everyday life, in fact words I would probably spank you for saying about yourself. The humiliation you'd feel would excite me and I think to a certain extent they would excite you too provided that they don't overlap with something he said or did… I'm just afraid that I'm going to say something he said without thinking and do more damage than I intend to." I'm staring intently into her eyes now hoping she can see my sincerity at not wanting to damage her.

"Can you give me an example of what some of those words might be? And I'll tell you if he ever called me anything like it?"

"OK" I take a big deep breath I don't need and then say, "Whore, Slut, Dirty Whore, Cunt, Little Girl, My Dirty Little Girl."

She shudders in my arms and I know at least one of those words was said to her while he was hurting her. "He used to call me his dirty little whore. And say that I liked it when he did whatever to me. He called me a slut a couple of times, but not as often as the whore comment."

"OK, I think I need to refrain from saying anything I would consider humiliating until after the Marks are in place. I think that's the safest bet. I can hold back for a week and then after I'll know everything he did and said to you and you won't have to relive it to tell me not to do it, OK? Maybe I won't say anything like that ever anyways, but I know if we hadn't talked about this I would have said any of those words to you, so it's good that we talked about this. I would never forgive myself if I could have prevented harming you and didn't. I meant what I said earlier, both to your Grandmother and to you. Your safety is my first priority and not just your physical well being, but your emotional and mental too, OK?"

"Thank you for caring Eric." And she softly kisses my lips. She tries to deepen the kiss and I decide to let her lead. She pulls back a minute later and blushes, "Will you… will you take a shower with me? I feel… unclean, but I want you to help wash my back and other hard to reach spots." She says the last with a devilish smile.

"I think I'm up for washing your back and… other hard to reach spots!" I smirk back at her as her blush deepens and this time I can see that it goes almost all the way down.

I disentangle myself from her and stand offering her my hand. She takes it and we walk hand in hand to the bathroom. I turn to look at her, "I know you said Shower, but would you prefer a Bath, because I'm up for either. I've got bubble bath of varying scents and bath salts and oils, or we can skip all that and do the shower." I wiggle my eyebrows at her.

"Um I want to soak in a bath with you, but not right now, now I just want to get clean so to speak. Is… is that OK?" She's nervous again, but I can't tell if it's the Virgin in her or the Victim and I'm having a really hard time calling her a Victim, because she obviously lives with and overcomes the trauma every day. I really think the only reasons she's suffered from it today are because we don't know each other that well and it's the first time she's had consensual relations with a man. Maybe Survivor is a better word, since that IS what she is after all. We both are, and maybe eventually we can make it easier for the other to continue surviving.

I know I'm going to have to share parts of myself with her that have been buried since I was a Human. Honestly I'm hoping to put that off for as long as possible. It still hurts even after all these years how badly I failed my love. OK, I'm not going to think about that right now, I'm going to make her feel normal and wanted, by making her even dirtier before I scrub her back for her.

I pick her up and carry her to the large stand-alone shower. It could easily fit ten people, or one 6"5' tall Viking and a little Telepath. I turn on the water with the outside controls by the door and set it to 104 degrees. I like my showers hot and I know that Humans can safely stay in 104 degree water for up to twenty minutes, more if they stay hydrated. But best to ask first. "Do you like your showers hot?"

She smiles at me, "The hotter the better."

"Excellent" I grab her around the waist and start walking her into the shower. She grabs the soap and quickly washes herself. I pout at her when she looks up. "That's supposed to be my job I thought?"

"I just, I needed to be clean and I figure you and I can get dirty after I'm clean and then you can scrub every inch of me afterward I'm sorry I…"

"No! Don't do THAT! I was just kidding with you. You do what makes you feel better and safe, OK? And if you want me to make you dirty again just so I can scrub you clean afterward I have no problem with that." I wiggle my eyebrows at her and swagger up to her as best as I can in such a small space. I put my arms around her and pull her into me while leaning down for a kiss. I turn us in a circle, so my back is to the wall and the bench and I slowly sit down and we're just about face to face now, well a little more boob to face, but close enough and I'm certainly not going to complain plus she likes having her nipples and breasts stimulated. So I latch on to her left nipple with my mouth and suck hard alternating between sucking and biting with flat teeth. I switch to the other breast and then go back and forth for a while paying equal attention to both breasts biting and sucking harder with each pass.

She's moaning now and her legs are a little wobbly so I pull her onto my lap and continue torturing her breasts while the hand that's not cradled around her back slowly travels down back to the promise land, hopefully with better results this time. I bring my head up from her breasts and kiss her deeply at the same time I move my fingers past her lips and into her moist warmth. She's definitely wet, so that's a good sign. I rub along her slit once or twice and then tweak her clit just to get her attention. She jumps and moans almost all at once. I bring my fingers down to her opening and circle it a few times just barely touching the outer most part of the opening. Then I slowly slide one finger in, GODDESS she's tight, I pump into her a little until I feel her barrier brush up against my finger. Not going there tonight, but that doesn't mean I can't stretch her a little AND make it hurt a little for good measure. I pull my finger out and she moans her complaint until I add another finger into the mix. I push them slowly into her, stretching slowly as I go, letting her feel the stretch. I pump in and out of her a couple times while I scissor my fingers back and forth just barely brushing her barrier each time.

"Please. Please I need, I need it, please." She's shaking her head back and forth.

I whisper in her ear, "What do you need Princess?" I push a little against the barrier but not enough to break it; I'm saving that for another night.

"Please, Push it in, please, do it, do it please." She's begging and I can see tears in her eyes.

I pull back a little but she grabs at me to pull me closer, "Please"

"Sookie, I'm not going to push past your barrier tonight, I promised no sex remember." I whisper softly while I try to bring her attention to her clit by circling it and tapping it again and again.

"Not sex, please, please push it in. please." She begs beautifully and if I hadn't promised I would break through the barrier, but that's too close to sex for my comfort.

Besides, I want to break it the old fashioned way. So I tell her so as I tap on her clit again before circling around it a few times. I bring my mouth back to her nipples and start chewing, slowly increasing the pressure, until I can feel her almost there and I grab hold of her clit and twist, harder than last time. She screams out her release and shudders and I keep twisting back and forth to prolong it. Finally I squeeze the last shudder out of her and I pull my hand back and raise it to my lips and suck off her juices. Goddess she tastes so good!

She's leaning against me clearly blessed out for the moment, so I grab the soap off its little perch and soap up my hands. I soap her up good hitting every spot I can reach in this position. I soap up my hand again and trail it down to her slit again and I soap it up nice and good and then leave it there for a while wondering if it will start to burn like it does with some of the Fangbangers I used to take back to the safe house. With them if I left it on long enough it would cause them to be more sensitive for at least a day, to the point where the Fangbangers didn't want me to touch them anymore, enough to elicit tears and helpless moans and the twisting and trying to pull away, it's like an X-rated symphony for all the senses. As I'm pondering this I hear Sookie start to moan again. Perfect. "Does it sting Sookie?"

"hmm, yessss mmmm." She moans out loud again and wiggles in my lap trying to lessen the sting. I soap up my hand once more and I bring it back to her hole and push three fingers in, twisting them and scissoring them, trying to get soap all over the sensitive tissue. Her moans get louder the longer I leave it on. "Please."

"Does it hurt Sookie?" I pause to play with her clit that is swelling slightly from the irritation, "do you want me to wash it off?"

"Nnno" she barely pants the word out as I continue to toy with her clit, twisting it occasionally, though the soap lessens the traction so it doesn't hurt as much as it would without the soap. She's still wiggling. I decide to get her off this way and start the Blood Exchange, so my mouth travels back to her chest and I start scraping her nipples with my fangs like I did the last time, slowly scraping stronger and harder, just when she's about to come I slide my fangs in right above her heart and I cum with her from the taste alone, THAT'S never happened before!

After we've both come down from our high she slides off of me and onto the bench then she puts her finger in some of my cum that's on the bench and brings it up to her face. Up against the bench she can see that it's tinged pink. "It's pink. Weird." Then she pops her finger in her mouth and sucks the cum off.

"Good Goddess!" I pause to collect myself and then ask, "How do I taste?"

"It tastes sweet and salty at the same time, kinda like your blood tastes, like chocolate and salted peanuts. Or maybe salted almonds, I think it's closer to almonds." She sticks her finger in the puddle of cum again.

I grab her hand just before it reaches her mouth. "If you do that I'm going to have to clean you all over again because I'm going to get you all dirty again."

She smiles up at me and whispers, "I wouldn't mind getting dirty again!"

"Goddess I've created a monster." And I kiss her trying to distract her from the cum on her fingers.

It works up until she grabs hold of my penis and starts softly stroking and then I'M distracted. Her strokes get stronger with each pass and I show her to pass her palm over the top of it at the end of each stroke. She gets faster with her strokes and I'm close, so close and I tell her so. And then she leans forward and gives it a soft peck on the tip and then I'm cumming in her face. If I wasn't busy I'd be laughing at her expression, sort of a cross between shock and wonder.

Then I almost cum again when she licks her lips. I'm being out-sexed by someone not even a tenth of my age, what is happening to me? I need to get a grip and then I think about her firm grip, NOT HELPING! I turn towards the water to get the image of her covered in my cum out of my view.

Then I hear her, "That's weird. I didn't think you'd come ON me so I didn't mention it, but he used to do that to me, but I liked it when you did it. It made me feel like I'm yours and yours alone. Like I'm winning back a part of me that he stole so long ago. That's corny, right?"

I turn back to her and catch her eye so she can see my sincerity, "It's not corny at all. And you are mine and only mine. My body is the only body you'll ever know and yours will be mine only." I lather up and rinse off quickly, then I pull her up and quickly lather her up and rinse her off. I take the adjustable shower head off the wall and sit her back down, I sit beside her and pull her back so she's leaning on me, then I take my hand and hold her lips open and spray the water directly on it. I even get it straight up her hole and she moans.

After she's sufficiently rinsed off I hop up, turn off the shower and pick her up all in a matter of seconds. I stand her on the bath mat and rub her dry paying close attention to her sensitive parts then quickly dry myself off. I throw the towel towards the hamper and pick her up again and carry her to the bed. "You need to drink from me now; can you do that before you fall asleep?"

She sleepily nods her head. I sit on the side of the bed and pull her between my legs as I reach for the dagger again. I waste no time in pulling it deeply across my chest directly above my heart and she moves faster than I thought she could and is suddenly sucking on my wound. And I'm hard all over again. While she's sucking she grabs hold of my erection again and starts stroking me the way I showed her earlier. Just as the wound closes I let go and cum all over her stomach. She licks the remaining blood off my chest and then stands up straight and giggles, "I'm all dirty again! I sense this could turn into a never ending cycle if I'm not careful. You stay here I'll be right back."

I stand to turn down the bed and she looks at me and motions for me to stay where I am. I chuckle to myself at the look on her face. I realize that I've laughed more in the last twelve hours than I have in the last twelve years combined. I smile at that thought and think about all the laughter we'll share through the millennia. I hear the shower go back on and five minutes later it shuts off and a few minutes after that she comes back into the room. She sits on the bed and looks over her shoulder at me. She looks nervous again, I think it's the Virgin this time though, "Will you hold me till I fall asleep, Eric?"

I smile at her reassuringly and say, "Of course, you get into bed and I'll turn off the lights and join you, OK?"

She nods and slides under the covers, "hmm satin sheets, nice."

"Silk actually but they are nice aren't they? I like the feel of them on my skin."

"Hmm me too." She's going to be asleep in several minutes so I scoot under the covers and pull her into my side and hold her tight.

"Eric?" she asks softly.

"Yes?" I whisper back.

"Thank you, for everything. For coming to see me and offering to help and well just thank you for everything, especially the shower that was fun." She chuckles as she lets out a huge yawn.

"You're welcome, Sookie, it's been my pleasure… especially the shower." I chuckle as her eyes drift closed and her breathing evens out.

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I lay in bed with my new pet for a good hour just enjoying her warmth. It's been over a millennium since I last lay with someone who was warm beside me just for the sake of holding her. I never hold the Fangbangers, Shit lately, their lucky if they get to see my dick before it enters them, though they might get to see it if I make them lick it clean before I put it back in my pants, that's especially fun for me if I fuck them up the ass. They hate it and I LOVE it!

Finally I get up from the bed slowly so as not to jostle her and I walk down the stairs in the dark completely naked, she's seen all of me already, so what's the point in putting clothes on when I'm just going to take them off again when I'm done down here. I enter my office and turn on my computer. As I wait for it to boot up I wonder if the investigator understood that I wanted the information sent to me in a highly encrypted email attachment. Even if somebody had access to my emails the encryption is so complex that it would take at least a week to crack it. It wouldn't do to have someone else read my mail before I announce that Sookie is mine, which is all the time I need. Once the Marks are in place I won't care who knows that Sookie is mine. But until they ARE in place I have to be careful who even knows I know who she is.

As soon as the computer is done booting I open my email program. And excellent there is an email from the investigator in a language that hasn't been spoken or written in over 5,000 years. I've known this Vampire for almost 900 years and he's fiercely loyal to me since I saved his Mate, Bonded and Marked from the Inquisitors back in 1512.

I open the email and run the encryption program. After it's done I read what he's sent Hale, 78, (b. December 30, 1932) adopted brother of Adele Hale Stackhouse. He lived with his sister after her husband's death in 1987. He abruptly moved out of his sister's house in early April 1992, reason unknown. Worked as a mail carrier from 1949 to 1995 when he retired. Currently lives in a rented house on W. Warriner Street in Blanchard, LA 71009. He mostly keeps to himself except for his trips to the park in the afternoon, though those are more infrequent now that he's in a wheelchair and can't as easily play with the kids at the park.

"Play with the kids my ass!" I snap out loud. I don't know if I should mention any of this to Sookie, on the one hand she might get pleasure and some sense of revenge or vindication out of watching me torture him and eventually kill him. On the other hand, I'm not sure I want to expose Sookie to that side of my world just yet. I sit and ponder the situation for about half an hour until I hear Sookie call my name.

She sounds scared so I zip back upstairs to find that she is still asleep, but all twisted in the covers and struggling to free herself. I sit on my side of the bed and reach over to quickly untangle her and then I slide into the bed and pull her back into my arms.

"Eric, look out. AHHH" And suddenly Sookie is sitting up and struggling to get out from under the covers.

"Sookie?" I say softly, "It's OK, I'm OK; you're OK, shhh, calm down Princess. It was just a bad dream."

"He… he tried to shoot you, but it hit me and I was so worried about you, but you were worried about me and…" She's sobbing now as I pull her into my arms.

"Sookie, you know a bullet can't hurt me."

"It wasn't a bullet it was a… I think it's called a Crossbow; they used them on Buffy all the time. And he fired the arrow at you and you covered my body, but it went through your shoulder into mine and I was afraid to move in case it was near your heart. I was so scared and it was so real. Then you broke the end of the arrow sticking out of your back off and pulled yourself off the arrow while holding it so it wouldn't go deeper into me or get torn out."

"What happened next?" I ask softly to try to keep her calm.

"I don't know I woke up as you turned on him and started stalking him across the room. Please don't kill him, please, I couldn't bear it." She's quietly sobbing.

"Don't kill who, Sookie?" I'm rubbing her back trying to help her ease her sobs.

"Ja… Jason! He thought he was trying to save me, please don't!"

"Sookie was this a dream or do you think it was a vision?" If she smells like Her then it's possible she has the same gifts too.

"I have dreams that come true all the time, like once I dreamt that Jason hit his baseball into the bushes and when he tried to get it he got bit by a snake and I saw what kind of snake it was and I told Gran about my dream and then two days later Jason hit his ball into the bushes and got bit by a snake. But Gran knew what kind of snake it was cuz I told her so she knew it wasn't poisonous. We didn't have health insurance so it would have cost a lot of money if she had taken him to the hospital, but she didn't have too cuz she knew it was a Ringneck Snake, cuz I drew it for her. I have dreams like that all the time. Please don't kill him! Please!" she's still crying but her sobs are quieter now.

"Sookie, the best I can do Princess is promise to do everything in my power to not have to kill him OK? If he is a threat to you or me I will do what must be done, but I promise to try to avoid killing him unless absolutely necessary. Shh, it's OK You dreamt it, so just like with the snake you told me about it so hopefully we can prevent it from happening, OK? We know it might happen so we can be on the lookout for it. It's OK Princess; I promise everything will work out the way it's supposed to." I'm rocking her and in a couple of minutes her sobs stop and she drifts off to sleep.

As I lay down with her in my arms I hear Pam standing outside the door to the suite. She says, "I put her food in the appropriate places I will see you tomorrow evening. Good day, Master."

I hold her for another hour. As I'm lying there I begin to wonder if her dream about Hadley was a vision too! Could the woman Sookie saw electrocuting Hadley, be Sophie-Anne? She DOES like to play with electricity. There's no way to know for sure unless I show her a picture of the Queen. Hmmm, that idea has merit.

I feel the sun as it rises past the horizon. Shortly thereafter I feel Pam go to rest for the day. I finally decide I must go do my work now if I want to be able to spend the night with Sookie, while she is awake.

Once back in my office I get down to business and work for three and a half hours. Finally I answer the last email and check over Fangtasia's numbers from last night, there's discrepancies again. Five times in two weeks and such large round numbers is not a coincidence. But who would be stupid enough to steal $25,000 from me? I look over the schedules and time clock entries and see that there have been 15 Humans and 10 Vampires that were working all five days. 12 of the Humans had access to the till and 9 of the Vampires could have easily done it too. I'll need to let it happen a few more times so I can narrow down who's present AND has access when it happens. I should try not to have those employees work together; split them up on next week's schedule and hopefully the list will shrink. Then heads are going to roll.

I send an email to Pam with all the information on who to split up when she does the next schedule. I could have left a message on her phone, but if she listens to it while at the club any Vampire in the vicinity would hear it too, so best to use email in this case. Pam has the same encryption program installed on her computer, so she will have no problem opening it.

Once that's done I decide to go shopping on some of my favorite sites. There are some things I need for Sookie's training. I put several different types of clamps in my shopping cart. Based on how she reacted to nipple stimulation she'll love these. I get some dildos and vibrators in varying sizes, though I'll have to go to another site to get the bigger ones I want, some of the butt plugs too. Then I see an EMS Tens Unit and think back to the dream Sookie had. She said her cousin wasn't enjoying it, not like SHE would, so I add that to my shopping cart. I glance through the selection of whips, floggers, and crops, etc…

I have an extensive collection myself that I've been quite pleased with through the years. When I decided to take Sookie from the Queen I started bringing all the different pieces of my collection to the room I have in this house. I doubt I'll want to play with the Fangbangers now that I have My Sookie, shit I wonder if that's too close to 'My Little Sookie'? I'll have to ask her what she thinks. I won't call her 'My Sookie' if she thinks it's too close and I'm determined to not call her anything like it when we're in the moment, so-to-speak. That's going to require some concentration not to call her that though.

I pick up my phone and call my day-man.

He picks up on the first ring, "Yes Master, what can I do for you this morning?"

My response is, "I need some Icy-HOT, the largest container of it you can get, Tabasco sauce, again the largest you can find, and the largest hands of Ginger root you can find. Deliver them to Fangtasia before the sun sets."

"How many roots do you want, Master?"

I pause and think a moment, "Get me five for now."

"Is there anything else, Master?"

"No that's it for now, Good day." And I hang up.

It's just after noon and I feel the need to rest. When I get upstairs I see that Sookie is hugging my pillow. I slowly and gently remove the pillow from her arms, which of course wakes her up, "Eric, wha?"

I chuckle, "I needed my pillow." I slide between the sheets and pull her close to me. "Hug me, not the pillow."

"Mmm, OK" And she snuggles closer to me. I'm about to tell her to go back to sleep when her eyes flutter closed and her breathing begins to even out. I smile and let the death-sleep claim me for the day.

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_**End Chapter 001**_

**A/N:** OK, so what do you think? Should I continue this? When I'm done with the second chapter (which I have 17 pages of so far) I'm gonna go back and reread It's Elemental and try to update that soon too. I have a week off coming up in February so hopefully I'll be able to get some writing done then. Just so we're clear I'm NOT abandoning It's Elemental.


	2. Chapter 002  Beautiful Little Monster

**A/N: ****I have decided to post my stories on Wordpress as well, the link is in my profile.**

**It's Elemental will still be posted on but Love-Hate-Sex-Pain will, after this chapter, be exclusively published on Wordpress (and adultfanfiction(dot)net). I apologize for any inconvenience this causes, but I have come to the realization as I'm working on future scenes that future chapters of LHSP will NOT be appropriate for this site. Wordpress has a subscribe feature so you can still be notified when I update if you like. Also, the version of this chapter that I'm going to post on Wordpress will have pictures embedded in it so you can see the Marks, so please check it out!**

**A/N: Later in this chapter GPOV is Gran's POV.**

**Also a shout out to ****teewhy1977 and her fanfic girls reading group! Thanks for reading Girls!**

**And a special thank you to InLoveWEric. Thanks so much for being my sounding board and not running away scared when I tell you my evil ideas…lol.**

**Also, a special thank you to IkeaGoddess for her help with the Figging scene.**

**And special LOVE to my Beta VAlady… thank you, you ROCK! Your help has been invaluable.**

**Love Hate Sex Pain**

**Chapter Two**

**Beautiful Little Monster**

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**SPOV**

As sleep's hold on my mind slips I shift in bed and realize that I'm laying on Satin sheets, then I think, No, they're Silk not Satin. I startle myself fully awake when I realize I'm naked and I'm very confused. Why am I naked? I never sleep naked, but then the heavy weight to my side registers and I remember… Eric!

I open my eyes and realize that it's still dark in here and I'm not sure I can make it to the light switch without running into something. The path to the bathroom is clear of furniture so I decide the easiest thing to do is to head for the bathroom first. So I slip out of bed and head in that direction with my hand stretched out in front of me. I quickly find the wall and slide a little to the right and there's the door. I step in and feel the wall, looking for the light switch. "And then there was light." I giggle a little at my silliness.

I take care of my immediate needs and then head back out into the bedroom. I can see enough of the room with the bathroom light on that I easily make my way across the room and turn on the light. If I'm going to be living here we need to get lights for the bed stands. Plus, I'm not sure if the light will disturb him or not. I'll mention both the need for lights and my question to Eric when he gets up.

I look around for my night shirt and my panties from last night. I find the t-shirt at the foot of the bed, but the panties are MIA. I giggle again. I haven't laughed this much in forever, if ever. I like the effect Eric seems to have on me. And he doesn't think I'm defective at all. He thinks I'm perfect for him. I sit back on the bed and run my fingers through his hair and lightly run the backs of my fingers along his cheek. He's so beautiful. And he wants me, ME! How cool is that? And the things he's made me feel in just a few short hours are amazing.

I always thought I was ruined and that I wouldn't be able to have a physical relationship with a man. First there's my Telepathy and Empathy. I couldn't even bring myself to try to kiss a boy because their thoughts and feelings were just so vulgar it made me uncomfortable.

And then there's the reason they made me uncomfortable. It took me a few years after Uncle Bartlett moved out before I was comfortable being touched by anyone, even Gran or Jason, though admittedly, Jason was usually too busy with his friends to bother with me.

He was pretty upset when Gran threw Uncle Bartlett out of the house. I think Gran eventually explained why a few years later, but he never said anything to me about it, though he did stop asking if we could invite Uncle Bartlett over.

And now I've met a man, whose thoughts I can't hear, though I do get emotions from him. The emotions aren't very strong compared to those of a Human, but they're definitely there. And he wants me. And I want him. The things we did last night were far more amazing than I ever imagined they could be.

I frown when I think of the part of the evening where I was suddenly thrown back in time. That was scary, but Eric was great. He handled the situation perfectly. I couldn't have asked for a better reaction from him.

And he still wants me. I was so afraid after I freaked that he wouldn't want me anymore; that I'm too much trouble for this walking, talking Sex-God. But that wasn't the case at all.

If I'm not careful I'm going to easily and quickly fall in love with this man. I'm already attached and it hasn't even been a full 24 hours.

I wonder if he's capable of Love. Arlene says Vampires can't feel Love or other emotions like we can. But he's shown so many emotions already that I'm almost certain he could Love!

Now I just wonder if he could Love ME! I hope so, cuz I can already feel myself falling… HARD!

I shake my head of those thoughts and get up and put my nightshirt in the closet. Then I pick out my green sundress, green and white polka dot bikini and my shampoo, conditioner and body lotion out of my travel bag. I enter the shower and I'm reminded of all the fun we had in here last night. I was scared when I bent and kissed his penis. Uncle Bartlett used to make me put him in my mouth and I HATED THAT, but I wanted to try and then suddenly he was cumming on my face and I felt proud not sick. I know he didn't intend to come on my face. I managed to excite him so much that he came unexpectedly. That's SO COOL! I laugh to myself as I shower and reminisce. I pause and ponder the soap before I pick it up and begin washing myself. I never thought to leave the soap on my sensitive spots before and I'm tempted to do it again now. I'm still a little sensitive down there but maybe I can get Eric to do it again later tonight. After I shower and rub my lotion all over me I put my clothes on. I decide to forgo shoes, since I'm just going out to the pool.

I look for a clock, but can't find one. So after I comb out my hair I return to the closet and I dig my cell phone out of my purse and check the time, 6:45pm. Wow I slept late, maybe I shouldn't go outside after all since it's going to be dark soon, DARN! I haven't been swimming in years and I really wanted to swim today.

I decide to go down stairs and see if Pam brought my food and then I'll look at the books in his Library.

As I start to walk past the bed I hear Eric gasp and moan softly. "MMM I like waking up with your scent all over me."

I'm surprised by how relieved I am that he's awake and I run back to the bed and practically crawl on top of him. "Eric, did you sleep well? What's it feel like when you go to sleep? Do you dream?"

Eric laughs and pulls me closer to him, "Breathe little one, Yes, I slept well. It feels like I'm being dragged under water almost and then I know nothing until I wake again which feels similar to breaking the surface of water after having dove deep and run out of air. It almost always leaves me gasping for breath even though I don't need to breathe." He pauses and it seems like he smells my hair.

"Hmm, you smell like oranges and mangoes in addition to your natural papaya scent, it's a lovely combination."

"I didn't have room to bring my body wash so I had to use your soap and I was a little worried the scents would clash, so I'm happy you think I smell good."

"I do." He pauses and then continues quietly, "hmmm I'm hungry. Do you think you can handle one more exchange now and we'll do the First and maybe the Second Mark later tonight when we get back home?"

I pause to take stock of my body. I feel fully awake and very perky. I can smell Eric's musky scent and his soap I think. And I noticed when I was in the bathroom that my hair is shinier than usual and that my skin is clearer than it has been recently. In short I feel fantastic. "Um, I think so." I go to pull away.

"Where are you going?" He asks as he playfully pulls me further onto his chest.

"I was going to take off my dress and my bikini top. Should I take off my bottoms too?" I'm not sure if I'm hoping he does or doesn't notice the hope in my voice when I ask that last part.

Clearly he does as he laughs lightly. "I'm not going to argue if you choose to take them off."

Darn, he left the decision to me. Now he'll know what I want if I take them off. I guess he already knows anyways, but it's still kind of embarrassing. I think I understand what he was talking about when he said he would get off on my embarrassment and that I might too, cuz I think I am more turned on BECAUSE I'm embarrassed.

I pull away and stand up by his side of the bed. When I'm sure I have his full attention on me I slowly lift the hem of my dress and slip it up and over my head. Next I untie the top of my Bikini and let it fall to the floor. Then I turn so my back is facing him. I look at him over my shoulder and then I bend over as I pull my bottoms down my legs and slowly step out of them. I stay bent over for a minute so he can enjoy the view as I let them slip out of my hand and land at my feet then I slowly stand back up and turn around.

His arousal at my display is obvious from the tent his erection has made in the sheets. I feel proud again. He's the only man I've ever wanted to cause that reaction in and I did. I step back to the bed and I climb up on top of him straddling his stomach. I can feel his hardness brush against my backside as I settle on top of him. I place my hands on his chest for leverage then lean down and kiss him.

"I've never stripped for anyone before, did I do alright?" I say in between kisses.

*********************************9*******************************

**EPOV**

As Sookie strips for me I notice things about her body that I didn't notice last night. For one she has scars on her upper and outer thighs and her stomach and some on her upper arms. As she straddles me I look at her forearms and see scars on both of them as well. They're all obviously self-inflicted and at least a year old, or at least they look a year old. If they weren't fully healed last night my blood would have finished healing them. Those thoughts make me a little sad. Not surprisingly it also turns me on a little.

She leans down and kisses me sweetly and slowly then she pauses to say, "I've never stripped for anyone before, did I do alright?" I can see in her eyes how nervous she is that she didn't do it right.

I pick her up by her hips and move her back a little so that the sheet is trapped between her moist depths and my erection and I slide her along it a couple of times. "MMmmm, feel what your little strip tease did to me… YOU did that… perfectly!" She leans back down and kisses me softly then goes a little deeper so I reach my arm out to the nightstand and grab the Dagger.

I push her shoulders away from me and slowly drag the blade across my heart. I feel her warm lips close around the wound and then that wonderful suction and I'm wishing the sheet wasn't between us and that I could just lift her a little and fill her, but she deserves better than that. I want her to fully enjoy her first time, and though I'm sure it'll hurt and she'll like it, I don't think she'd like the feeling if I don't prepare her first, at least not the first time, so that's out for now.

I settle for running my hand down her body and finding the little bud between her legs. It's already a hard little nub. I circle it a few times and then I start twisting and pulling on it and I can both feel and hear her grunts with each twist and pull. Her hips are grinding down on my crotch and my hand. My other hand slides up her body to her breasts where I slowly start pulling and twisting her nipples in an opposite rhythm to the twisting and pulling I'm doing between her legs. I feel her shudder and then the wound closes. I twist as hard as I dare and suddenly she's coming all over my hand.

"OH Eric! YEEESSS!" She collapses on top of me when her last spasm ends.

I bring my hand to my mouth and lick her juices from my fingers. "Mmm I can't get enough of your taste." Rub my hand down her back to her ass and then I'm rolling us and she's suddenly beneath me with wide eyes, "Is this OK, Sookie?"

"Ye… Yes. Please… fuck… me..." She says between pants.

I grow serious for a moment, "Not yet Little One. When I fuck you I want it to be because you're ready and not because I just got you off and you're caught in the moment. I want to make it memorable for you and I don't want you to have any regrets." I lean down and kiss her softly.

"I won't regret it." She says this firmly, but I still have my doubts.

"I need to feed from you and finish the Blood Bond. I've never Blood Bonded before, but I'm told it can be overwhelming for both parties, so I think it best to keep the Bond and your first time two separate events. OK? I promise we'll talk about it later when we're both clothed and we'll decide when to do it OK?"

She huffs a little, but relents, "OK if you insist."

"I do." And then I'm kissing her. I run my tongue along the seam of her lips and when she opens I drive my tongue into her the way I wish I was driving another part of me into her. I'm totally ready to fuck her, but I want to be sure she's ready. I only get one shot at making it perfect for her. And I can't believe I'm thinking this, but I want to romance her. I want her first time to be memorable and pleasurable for BOTH of us.

As I run my tongue over the roof of her mouth I decide that now is the time to finish the Bond. I'm a little scared. I told Sookie the truth. I've never Bonded before. Vampire's I know who've Bonded all say it's amazing, but that it takes a little time to get used to it. I can't afford to be off my game even for a little while, but I've looked at this situation from every angle and this is the best solution, especially now that I know Sookie. I could never just leave her to her own devices against the Queen. She wouldn't last very long by herself. Someone would find a way to snuff out that fire inside her and then she'd just be a shell of herself, and I refuse to allow THAT to happen.

I kiss her lips softly and then move my kisses over her chin and down her throat. I decide it's best not to linger at her pulse point for too long and continue down to her breasts. Her nipples are hard peaks and I tease them a little and then start alternating biting each one with blunt teeth. My hand is down playing with her curls above her sex. I slip my fingers into her warmth and softly brush against her pearl. Then without warning I twist it hard and she's coming and I bite her just above her heart.

After the first swallow I feel a warmth envelope me and I can feel her heart beating, for me. I feel her acceptance and her approval, as well as her excitement, satisfaction and wonder and a little longing and disappointment. 'Why is she disappointed?'

Sookie says, 'I really wanted to make love with you.'

'I promise we will, just not yet, waiting will only make it better, trust me.'

'I do trust you, more than anyone else.' And that's when I realize I'm still sucking her blood; our whole conversation has been in our heads.

I pull back and lick her wound until it heals. 'Can you hear me Sookie?'

'Of Course I can hear…you…' Her eyes grow round and I know she's realized the same thing I did.

"Eric?" She sounds scared when my name passes her lips. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to… please, don't…"

I interrupt her with a brief kiss to her lips and then I say, "Princess, I'm not going to hurt you because you can hear me… When I've given you all the Marks you'll know everything I know anyways. We do however have to figure out if you can hear OTHER Vampires… and if I can hear ANYONE besides you."

I pause as I think about the ramifications if she can hear other Vampires. "If you can hear other Vampires we'll have to work hard to keep it a secret, because while I've already decided to share all my secrets with you I doubt other Vampires will feel the same."

I can feel her shudder as she slowly nods. "It'll be OK Sookie. Either way this makes us stronger. I told your Grandmother that being able to Mind Meld at just a touch would be advantageous if we are ever in trouble, but this is so much better. This might not require touch."

I roll off of her and she protests. 'I just want to see if I can talk to you with my mind without us touching.'

'I wonder how far apart we can be and still hear each other.' I hear her in my head. That's really very trippy, and she experiences this all the time? My respect for her just sky rocketed. She giggles at that.

I pull her back into my arms and kiss the top of her head. 'We'll have to practice and experiment.'

"I've never talked to anyone using just my mind before. I'm not used to thinking something and then 'hearing' a response, that's gonna take some getting used to." She says with a small smile.

"Just imagine how I feel. I've NEVER heard ANYONE'S thoughts before." I say with a small chuckle.

She giggles at that. I run my hand over her hip and I feel the little lines of her scars and I wonder what caused these.

"I… I did those." She says. "With… with a razor blade, or an e-xacto knife, I've even used one of Jason's box cutters. I don't do it as much anymore. I used to do it because I felt bad, but now if I do it it's because I want to feel the pain and see the blood. The clothes I wear now don't really lend themselves to covering fresh cuts though, so I don't really do it anymore. Besides I swear Gran has a Vampire's sense of smell, cuz she always knows when I'm bleeding in a way I shouldn't be. Mostly I just do things that don't leave marks now like I said last night… clothespins, the brush, I've even used hot wax. And none of that makes as big of a mess when I'm trying to, well you know, get off." She whispers the last two words. "If I cut I'd have to be careful not to get blood all over my sheets and the tissues to clean it up would have to be flushed so Gran wouldn't see them lying in the trash barrel."

I'm torn between wanting to make her promise not to do it anymore and wanting to do it to her. Would it be a double standard to make her promise not to do it, but do it to her myself? I could do it and she could feel the pain and see the blood and then she can drink my blood and there'll be no cuts to cover up. Of course sometimes the burn afterward is the best part, so I could heal her before I go to rest or even after I wake up so she can feel it for a while. I know when we start playing with whips and such she's going to have welts and such that I won't heal right away, if at all.

Apparently I've been broadcasting this entire debate because she reaches up and kisses me before saying, "I'd like that… It'd be the best of both worlds. Now I have you so I don't need to hurt myself. You can do it for me. Right?"

I hug her close and kiss the top of her head, "Right."

I sigh and then say, "We should get up, we need to talk to your Grandmother before we stop at Fangtasia for a little while, and then the rest of the night will be ours to do as we please."

I hear her think maybe she can talk me into making love to her THEN. I chuckle and reply, "Maybe Princess, we'll definitely talk about it at some point tonight though, so don't worry, we'll make a plan for it."

"Good cuz I can't wait!" She says with a sigh.

I turn to her as I sit up in bed. "Sookie, why are you in such a hurry. It'll definitely happen we're bonded now so we're stuck with each other."

Her lip trembles and tears form in her eyes. "Hey, I didn't mean I don't want you… or was coerced into Bonding to you… I wanted this, I WANT this… I just meant that a Bond is more permanent than a Human marriage. The only way to get rid of me is to kill me and you agreed to take steps to prevent even that from working." I've pulled her up to sit in my lap as I speak and I'm rubbing her back and placing soft kisses all over her face as I talk. "I wanted you and now I have you and there's no going back now!"

I expect to have many little episodes like this through the years. Too much damage has been done to her psyche. Her self-esteem and self-image were so skewed by that Asshole's words and actions. Plus based on the information that my investigator found on her before I went to meet her she has few to no friends. From what I can tell the few people SHE would call friend merely use her when it's convenient and abandon her when she needs them. Her brother's actions are just as bad and can't possibly be good for her.

But now she has me, so I will just have to endeavor to reassure her whenever she needs it. I think Pam may also be able to help improve her self-esteem and self-image. I will think on this more later, for now, "You are mine, for now and for always." She hugs me tighter as I say these words. UGH that urge to torture and kill is back. I quickly push that thought aside in the hopes that she won't hear it.

"Who… who do you want to torture and kill, did I…" She's crying now.

"No… NO! I don't want to harm you; we've been through this, but… I must admit that I may have plans for your Uncle. I haven't decided on a definite plan of action just yet, but… But I had my investigator get me background info on him."

That seems to have calmed her a bit. "Oh. I… I don't know how to feel about that. On the one hand it would be nice to see someone hurt him and do things to him that he doesn't want. But on the other hand, wouldn't that just make us as bad as he is?"

"Sookie, the rules of my world practically demand that I punish him for the wrongs he has committed against you. I'm fairly certain that I will torture him, the only question I have is whether you'll be present for any of it." She looks sad as she gazes into my eyes, "Just think about it OK… it's not going to happen tonight so you have a little while to think about what you want to do, OK?"

I hold her for a few more minutes and then move to get out of bed. "I think it best we clean up separately or we'll never get out of here. Call your Gran and ask if she can speak with us this evening, but don't mention me by name or say that I'm a Vampire or what we wish to speak to her about. I'll be done with the shower in a moment and then you can use it."

She pouts a little then gives me quite the view as she gets out of bed and bends over to retrieve her clothing. I groan softly and close my eyes for a moment then I kick it into high gear and quickly clean myself up.

When I come out of the bathroom to get my clothes I hear Sookie telling her Gran we'll see her in a bit. Good. I really think Sookie should hear about her heritage from Adele, NOT me.

Sookie heads into the bathroom as I finish putting my Fangtasia T-shirt and tight black jeans on and I sit on the bed to put my boots on. Then I head downstairs to check my email and phone messages.

I unlock the computer and check my email. I have numerous emails regarding my various businesses, but I see one from Fangtasia's accountant informing me of his need to speak with me as soon as it's convenient for me. He must have noticed the discrepancies in the numbers too. I send off an email telling him to meet me at the club at 11pm. That should give Sookie and me plenty of time to speak with Adele.

I hear Sookie at the top of the stairs, "Eric?"

"I'm in here My Pet." I get up and stick my head out the door. She's wrapped in nothing but a towel, hmmm. I shake my head to get back on track and concentrate on her words.

"Can I just wear what I had on and I can change into something more club appropriate at Gran's house? How am I going to get all my stuff here anyhow?"

I nod and say, "You don't even need to change if you don't want to, I think you looked very cute in the green dress; but if you want to change at your Grandmother's house that will be fine. As for your things, on our way to Bon Temps we can stop at the U-haul store and pick up boxes. We can pack some things tonight and then we can pack the rest tomorrow night if you want. I don't want you going anywhere alone until after the Marks are in place."

"But we're Bonded now. I thought…"

"The Queen could still kidnap you and Turn you against your will before I could get to you. I'd have the right to kill her if she did, but you'd still be Vampire, so it's best to err on the side of caution in this instance."

"OK. If it DEFINITELY keeps me from being Turned then I'm NOT going to argue." She seems to have just realized that she's talking to me in nothing but a towel, since I can smell her arousal growing.

"Go put your clothes on and we can be on our way. The sooner we leave the sooner we can get home and then who knows what we'll do!" I wiggle my eyebrows at her as I say the last part and chuckle to myself as she hurries back to the bedroom.

I return to my office and since I'm done with my email I turn off the computer and open my cell phone to check for messages. No new messages. I walk into the sitting area and sit on one of my leather couches. Since we're getting boxes we should take my Escalade, so we can bring back whatever she packs tonight.

I really don't want to go to Fangtasia tonight. I'd rather get my new Pet all packed and moved in. The sooner she's away from Compton's house the better. At least until he's been informed of her status, and definitely until the Marks are in place.

I take my phone back out of my pocket and dial my accountant. He picks up after three rings. "Hello, Mr. Northman I just got your email. I was…"

I cut him off before he can finish, "Yes I've changed my mind, and I want to meet with you next week instead of this evening."

"Oh, well the matter is rather pressing I…"

"Yes, if it's what I think it is then it's already being dealt with. I want you to keep a close eye on the numbers until I see you on Thursday of next week at 9pm. Bring whatever information you've gleaned from the numbers then and we can go over it. I can't fix the problem until I have more information, so this is the best solution. I will call you next week to confirm. Good Evening." And I hang up without even letting him agree. That's why I like being the boss. No one can argue with me. If I want something a certain way then that's the way it's going to be!

I turn my head to look at the stairs as I hear Sookie walk towards them. As she comes down the stairs I am struck by how beautiful she is. I wonder how much of her being untouched is because the males around her didn't want her and how much is because she wasn't even close to ready. Her Telepathy couldn't have helped either.

As she comes to stand before me I smile and say, "Change of plans, we're still going to get boxes and go to your Gran's, but we'll go to Fangtasia another night. Tonight I want to focus on our conversation with your Gran and with packing your things and moving them here. OK?"

She smiles back, "Sure, if you don't have to go to Fangtasia tonight, that'd be great. I have to admit I'm a little anxious to get moved in here." She frowns a little then continues, "It'll be nice to get some packing done."

I grab her hand and pull her between my bent knees. "Are you anxious because you sense something coming? Or are you just anxious to get situated in your new life?" I need to pay attention to her instincts and any feelings she has. If Adele tells us what I think she's going to tell us, then there's a very real possibility that any feelings she has could be premonitions of a sort. But I'll explain that to her after Adele has spoken with us.

"I'm not sure why I'm so anxious." She pauses then continues with a bit of a pout, "You're keeping a box around what you think the conversation is going to include, but I caught that part about my feelings being premonitions… how come I can't get into that box?"

I chuckle, "I'm not sure how the box even exists, but now that I know it does I'll have to experiment with it. And don't pout… Right now all I have is speculation. We'll see your Gran in an hour or so and she can tell you what's going on better than I can. Now let's go feed you, since I already fed." I say that last part with a wolfish smile and get the desired blush from her.

After she backs up so I can stand I lead her out the door being sure to secure it once we're out. As we make our way to the first floor Sookie says, "I'm so hungry. I didn't eat dinner last night and now I haven't eaten all day. I've got to make sure I get three meals a day at least. I've been known to forget to eat and then I get anemic and that sucks! Plus I can't get anemic if I'm supposed to be feeding you every night; cuz then you might get sick too! And…"

I turn as I enter the kitchen and kiss her firmly on the lips to stop her ramble. I pull away enough to speak. "I will be sure to remind you to eat. I could hire someone to make your meals for you if you like." I pull away and allow her to see to her food.

"I can make my own meals. I just need help remembering… Gran usually reminds me at home and Sam reminds me when I'm at work, but now I'm not living with Gran or working at Sam's. It's so weird that I suddenly don't live at home anymore or work at my job …" As she says all this I get to watch her luscious ass sway back and forth as she bends over to look in the refrigerator. Then she bends further to open the freezer on the bottom. As she stands back up with a bag in her hand I realize that I have no clue what she said after 'working at Sam's…' so I just nod and try to focus back on her words and not her breasts which are practically popping out of her dress from having bent over. I shake my head slightly. FOCUS! "…but if you can remember to remind me that will solve that problem."

She stops going through the cabinets long enough to watch me nod my head at her then she says, "You have NOTHING in your cabinets."

And she's back to looking for… "What are you looking for My Pet?"

"Oh, the pots and pans so I can cook my ravioli's."

I go into the pantry and come out with a fairly large pot, "Will this work, Princess?"

"OH Yes! Thank you. I'll have to look later and see what all you have in here and then get anything I need that you don't have. Since I'm guessing the last time you ate human food, they didn't use metal pots and stoves…" She giggles and fills her pot with water.

A half hour later she's sitting and eating strange little triangles dripping in olive oil and coated with some sort of powder. I had no idea watching a Human eat could be such a turn on and the oil that occasionally drips down her chin reminds me of my blood that did that last night. SHIT I'm hard again! I decide I need a distraction so I ask, "What size boxes do we need? And how many? I have no idea what a young woman might have that would need to be packed when they move. I mean clothes are obvious, even if I would prefer you go without." I wiggle my eyebrows at her as she laughs. "But other than that, I don't know what kinds of things you have acquired through the years."

She answers in between bites, "Well I don't need my furniture so we can leave that at Gran's, but I want to ask her if I can take the two little lamps by my bed, because Human's need to be able to see where they're going when they wake up and the room is dark."

As she pops another triangle in her mouth I chuckle and comment, "I guess you had trouble this afternoon when you woke up?"

"Not trouble per say, but it would be nice to be able to just reach over while I'm still in bed and turn on the light. Hey, I thought you said you only sleep till like 4pm, but it was almost 7 when you woke up."

I agree with her and then say, "I figure the Bonding tired me out so to speak… I haven't slept this late in Centuries." I pause, then, "What else do you need to pack?"

"Well I have my jewelry case and my stuffed animals, and a couple of books, though mostly I borrow my books from the library. The rest is mostly clothes and shoes and purses and the like. I have some photos and some knickknacks I'd like to bring with me too, if that's OK."

"That is more than OK, Sookie this is your home now too! And once you've had a chance to look around and get a sense of what I do and do not have here already I'm going to set you up on my computer and let you shop for whatever else we need so that you are just as comfortable as I am. I've had more than 54 years to acquire everything you see here, but I haven't been shopping with a Human in mind so you have some catching up to do. All the stuff in the kitchen was bought in the last week when I decided I was going to make you mine if I could. I just told my Day-man to buy one of everything he has in his kitchen, though he did say he's not much of a cook, so… you'll have to flesh out the supplies once you're settled."

As I've talked she's finished her food and is up at the sink looking under it. Unfortunately the island is in the way of my view, but then she's standing again anyways. "Uh Eric, while we're out tonight can we stop at the store and pick up a few things that can't wait, like dish soap and maybe some snacks?"

I chuckle, "Of course, though there should be some soap in the pantry." I stand and go get it for her.

Ten minutes later we walk out to the garage. "I usually drive the Corvette, but I thought we'd take the Escalade so that we can fit whatever you pack and bring it back tonight."

After a stop at the U-haul store we're on our way back to Bon Temps. Sookie put on a popular radio station when we got in the vehicle and it's playing softly in the background, but I'm not paying any attention to it, I'm busy trying to 'hear' Sookie's thoughts, but now it appears she has a box too. She's been thinking about her Uncle for the last few minutes but I can't see what she's thinking and it concerns me.

"You don't have to be concerned Eric, I'm just trying to go over the things he did and said so I can tell you anything else I remember so we can avoid any further flashbacks. I felt really bad that I ruined the mood and I want to avoid that if at all possible."

"I'm all for avoiding flashbacks, but you didn't ruin the mood, if you recall after we took a break we had quite a bit of fun in the shower." I pause to wiggle my eye brows at her. "I wasn't worried about not 'getting any' if that's what you're talking about. I was more concerned with you and taking care of you. Your Grandmother and you are both placing a great deal of trust in me to take care of you and strangely I fully intend to live up to that trust. So if you think of anything else I shouldn't say or do you let me know but don't worry about affecting the mood." I look at her briefly as I continue driving she has tears running down her cheeks.

"Sookie, what's wrong?" She does not reply so I ask, "Why are you crying, Sookie? I didn't mean to upset you…"

"You didn't, it's just, nobody but Gran ever cares what happens to me, not even Jason. I… I wasn't expecting you to care either… I'm sorry that came out wrong… I guess I don't expect ANYONE to care, other than Gran anyways. Gran always cares, but I can't talk to her about this, I'm not sure if I can talk to you about it either, but it's nice knowing if I want to you won't mind."

"I really won't mind Sookie; anything you ever want to talk about, all you have to do is say the words and we'll talk about it, OK?" I steal another quick glance at her and see that she's nodding slightly and has a small almost-smile on her lips.

"OK. But now I don't want to talk about Uncle Bartlett. I want to just sit here with you and enjoy the peace and quiet." She says this with a smile.

I look at her again and silently ask, 'but now you can hear my thoughts too?'

She chuckles, "Even though I can hear your thoughts now they're still quieter than a Human's… I have to listen harder to hear you. So if I want to not hear you it's fairly easy to ignore your thoughts, besides if I focus on your thoughts I just get frustrated by that box you won't let me see inside of."

Now it's my turn to chuckle. "You just have to wait not even ten more minutes and we'll be at your Gran's and we can ask her to explain your Heritage.

****************************************9************************

**GPOV **

I can't believe how nervous I am. I knew when Pamela came and tried to glamour me that it was only a matter of time before He would enter Sookie's life. I almost lost my breath last night when he stepped into the kitchen. He looks exactly like he did the last time I saw him, though I was glad to see that he didn't put together who I am. I know it's been about 250 years since he last saw me, but I was afraid he'd recognize me before he Bonded to Sookie. But now that he has tasted her I know that's why they're coming to see me tonight. He still probably doesn't know who I am, but I'm sure he recognized the taste.

This is the day I have been dreading since the Goddess told me my destiny. The dread has been growing since Sookie was born. And over the years the dread has become an almost living thing inside me.

I hope Sookie forgives me for not telling her the truth before now.

I take a deep breath as I hear a car pulling up the drive and going around the back of the house.

'Please Goddess let her forgive me.' I'm still not sure how to tell her, but as I hear the back door open I know I must tell her.

"Gran…? Where are you?" Sookie calls out to me as she walks through the kitchen. I can hear Eric as he closes the door.

"I'm in here dear." I call back from the living room. Here goes nothing.

As soon as they enter the living room I can sense the Bond between them. Good, that's as it should be.

Sookie bounces over to me and kisses me hello. She is always such an energetic soul.

"Please have a seat, both of you." I'm smiling, but inside I'm scrambling, I should have practiced what to say.

Sookie sits on the couch and pulls Eric to sit beside her. As I watch them sit they seem to enjoy the touch of each other. This is a good sign. Not only have they Blood Bonded, but they've bonded emotionally too.

"How was your evening?" I hide my smile behind my tea cup as I watch Sookie's face turn red.

"It… It was good for the most part." I wonder at that last part.

There's a lull in the conversation and I realize I'm going to have to start this conversation off because Sookie doesn't know enough to know what to ask.

"I imagine you have some questions regarding Sookie's Heritage?" I look at Eric, "You recognized the flavors, yes?"

He nods, "I recognized some of the flavors in Sookie's Blood. I thought it best though that Sookie hear about her Heritage from you though, so I haven't told her what I've figured out."

I look at Sookie now as she looks at me with curiosity in her eyes. "Sookie you remember the dream you had before your parents died?"

"You mean the one where evil Faeries drowned and killed them?" She asks softly.

I nod, "Yes, that's the one. I'm sorry to say, but I should have done more to prevent their deaths, but at that point we didn't know you had the sight. It practically skipped your mother after all, so we didn't give much thought to your dreams coming true. Dear, I know I told you it was just a bad dream and that I told you your parents died from a flash flood. They did, but evil Faeries really did kill your parents, so far as I can tell it happened exactly as you dreamt it."

**************************************9**************************

**SPOV**

I can feel my eyes grow wide and it feels like I've been hit in the chest. The dream was real? Faeries are real? HOLY SHIT! I can feel her sincerity and her truthfulness washing over me in waves so I'm not going to question those facts, but "Wh, why would evil Faeries kill my parents?"

Gran looks sad as she answers, "That was a miscalculation on all our parts. Your Father was a Hybrid, half Faerie and half Handmaiden to the Goddess. The Faeries only knew that he was half Faerie. I imagine they wouldn't have touched them if they had known that his other half wasn't Human. They believe that mixing their bloodlines with Humans weakens the power behind the blood. Which is sort of true, but that is beside the point, because your Father wasn't even a little Human." She pauses, then, "Your mother was essentially collateral damage."

She pauses to give us both a moment to internalize what she just said. Daddy wasn't Human. Half Faerie and half Handmaiden, what is that anyways?

"Are the Faeries that killed her parents still a threat?" Eric asks softly, but with some urgency.

"No, they were informed of my Grandchildren's Heritage. It was a little more difficult to protect Hadley, but once they knew what I am they backed down. They shouldn't be a threat to Sookie at all..."

I interrupt her, "But if Momma was Human, wouldn't they want to kill me and Jason too?"

I already know the answer before she says it, "She wasn't Human either; so no, they don't want to kill you."

**********************************************9******************

**EPOV**

"What? What was she then?" Sookie sounds scared so I pull her into my side and wrap my arm around her. Perhaps I should have warned her after all, but I thought it would be best coming from Adele.

"She was half Seer and one half Elf." She pauses to let that sink in.

Those would be the four scents I recognized, but there's still one more unidentified scent... it's barely there, but I'm old enough to pick up on it, though apparently not old enough to know what it is I'm smelling, so I ask, "I picked up five scents from Sookie, the four you mentioned and one as yet unidentified scent that's barely there, but it's enough that I noticed it. Do you know what it is?" I don't know why, but I'm a little nervous as I ask this.

She shakes her head, "Sookie's Maternal Grandparents were to my knowledge 100% Seer and 100% Elf, respectively," She turns and looks Sookie in the eye, "But there were stories your Mother would tell me about an Ancient Seer from before Troy fell who had a touch of Daemon in her, but I doubt that small amount would still be detectable over 10,000 years later, but that is the only other thing I can think of. Daemon's are known for their Telepathy. Your Grandparents were each 100% of the species they were for all intents and purposes, but perhaps the gene was strong enough to come through after all these years."

HOLY SHIT! I KNEW that scent was familiar... I even associated it with the right Seer. "It's the Daemon, though I don't know any more than you do how such a small amount could survive through so many generations. I think I know the Seer you're speaking of though. I actually associated one of Sookie's scents with her, but now I recognize the fifth scent as hers as well. It's barely there on her as well, but that's where I smelled it before at about the same strength too which I think is why I was having such a hard time placing it."

I pause and then continue, "I also think this is where Sookie's Telepathy comes from, Her Grace is Telepathic as well and she is the only other non-full-blooded Daemon Telepath I know, though I have heard of a couple here and there through the years, but primarily if she's a direct descendant of Her Grace then that's got to be where it comes from."

"Uh, Eric, who is HER GRACE?" Sookie asks this very quietly. She seems a little shell shocked.

"She's one of the Oldest Vampires, if not THE oldest in existence. She's very powerful. She is a Seer; in fact she was the original Oracle."

"Can I meet her?" Sookie surprises me.

"I can call her for you and request an audience with her." I say softly as I rub my fingers over Sookie's shoulder. She smiles at me as she snuggles into me and then turns to look at Adele.

"If Daddy was half Faerie and Half Handmaiden to the Goddess then you are…?"

"A full blooded Handmaiden." She starts to shimmer as she says these words and then my eyes go wide with shock.

"Adelaide, it's you!" I know I sound surprised, but really I probably shouldn't be. Sitting before us is a woman I haven't seen since 1755. Her long Blonde hair is just this side of white it's so light. Her deep blue eyes are sparkling with humor at my response. "You have been here this whole time?"

"Yes Vampire. I have been close by all this time. I have been masquerading as a Human woman for the sake of my children and their children. It was decided long before they were born that they would all be raised to believe they were Human…"

Sookie interrupts her, "Why would you decide to do that… wouldn't it be better to know the truth."

"It would have led to some of you believing you were entitled. And it ultimately kept you untouched for your Vampire. The two of you are Destiny. I am saddened by the fact that I cannot tell you everything about your Destiny, but I do know that it is great. The two of you will be a force not to be reckoned with. Many great things await you both." She shimmers back into an old woman as she finishes speaking.

I can feel and hear Sookie's turmoil over everything that has been revealed to her, so I suggest, "Why don't you go up to your room and start packing? I'll go get the boxes out of the SUV and we can pack some while you try to absorb all of this. If you have further questions you can ask your Gran when we are done, ok."

Sookie practically jumps up and runs from the room after she nods her head. I can feel some fear in the Bond and I'm not sure where it's coming from. I am distracted by Adele as she speaks softly, presumably so that Sookie can't hear her, "I love ALL of my Grandchildren, Eric, but you should be wary of Jason. He will do more harm than good if you allow him to. He will hurt my Granddaughter very deeply and I fear what her response to your reaction will be. Do NOT release him or allow him to see Sookie until after the Marks are in place. It could be disastrous if you do."

I nod my head and get up from the couch. "I will keep all of that in mind, thank you." And I zip out to the SUV, grab the boxes and head back into the house. I follow the sound of Sookie's heartbeat into her room. She has two small suitcases that have definitely seen better days open on her bed and she is filling them with clothes from the dresser. I can smell her tears though so I place the boxes by the bed and pull her into my arms from behind. She turns in my hold and buries her face in the column of my neck.

"Sookie, I can feel your fear and some anger. The anger I understand, but what is it you are afraid of?" I whisper into her hair as I kiss the top of her head.

"Do you still want me even though I'm some mutant thing?" I barely register the words before I feel my anger flood through me.

I pull her head back and tip it up so I can look her in the eyes. "First of all you are NOT A mutant thing and saying so is terribly close to calling yourself defective, so remember what I said would happen if you were to do that. It's not just the words, it's the spirit of them and I WILL take you over my knee if you do that again. The only reason I'm not now is because I was not clear that I would take the spirit of your words into account, but now you know, so be careful what you say."

"But I am…"

"Sookie do not push me on this, you will not like the results and I don't think you want your Grandmother to hear me give you a thorough spanking. This is your last warning."

Her eyes are big and I can scent her fear and is that… yes, her arousal.

"And to answer your earlier question HELL YES I still want you! Nothing has changed between us. I do not care that you are part Faerie, Handmaiden, Seer, Elf, and Daemon. You are still you. And ultimately this is a good thing. It means you are less likely to lose your mind if we rush the Marks as we seem to need to. And these bloodlines give you your abilities which I am quite sure I do not know the full scope of yet. And most importantly if you were not a Hybrid you would not have met me. And I have to admit, I'm pretty satisfied with us knowing each other. Aren't you?"

"Yes, I just…"

I can see in my mind what she's going to say and I really don't want to spank her with Adelaide downstairs, so I place a finger over her lips, "You just have low self esteem, but you and I are going to be working on that, so don't worry about that." I kiss her forehead and then ask, "Now what do you need me to do to help you pack?"

"Well you can start by taking the clothes in my closet off the hangars and folding them to put into the suitcases, although we're gonna have to put some in a box or two I think. Then I need you to…"

**********************************************9******************

**Three Hours Later**

"I think that's the last of the stuff in here. I just need to get the rest of my toiletries and a few things around the house, be right back." I'm impressed by how efficiently Sookie went about packing everything but her furniture and I'm surprised that it only took three hours, though admittedly she doesn't have much compared to how much I have. I will be working to increase her number of belongings… I want Sookie scattered throughout my home. Though of course quality trumps quantity, so these things will be the best of whatever they are.

As she reenters the room with her toiletries in hand she says to me, "I have some questions for Gran then I think I want to go home if that's ok?" She looks so unsure, as if I would deny her.

"Of course Princess, we will go home whenever you wish, though you shouldn't feel rushed, speak to your Gran as long as you like. Why don't you go down and I'll put these last two boxes in the car with the others and then I'll join you unless you wish to speak to her privately?"

"No, I'll carry one box for you and then we can both speak to her, ok?" She seems nervous again.

"That works too." I pause and then, "Everything will work out the way it's supposed to. It might not be how we think it should be, but everything will happen as it should, always remember that."

I hug her for a minute or two and when I pull away I hand her the lighter of the two boxes and pick up the other. "Shall we?"

"We shall." She giggles. I like that sound, probably more than I ought to but I'll think about that later.

Once the boxes are in the SUV with the others we head back in and find her Gran sitting in the living room reading a book.

She puts a piece of scrap paper into the book and then closes it and she looks at us as we sit down across from her. "You have questions child?" Her smile is peaceful like a great burden has been lifted from her shoulders. And I suppose it has.

"Well, first, Grandpa was a Faerie?"

"The man who helped raise you, my Husband was not your real Grandfather. Your Father's Father was a Faerie named Fintan Brigant. My Husband never knew he wasn't Corbett's Father." Brigant? SHIT! The only Faerie named Brigant I know is that old Bastard Niall. He HATES Vampires. I need to Mark her before he becomes an issue to prevent him from killing me. But I'll ask about that later.

"Was Aunt Linda a Stackhouse or a Brigant?" Sookie sounds determined and she feels almost victorious as if getting answers, no matter how late, is what she's always wanted. And I realize this is true.

"Linda was technically a Brigant. Hadley gets the power of persuasion and the ability to defuse volatile situations from me, but the power of attraction she has comes from Fintan. Hadley's father was Human, so her powers are far less than if she didn't have any Human in her. It was harder to protect Hadley once the Fae found out about my children and their children but it was made known to them that interfering with the will of the Goddess would cost them their lives. They have left her alone to fulfill her Destiny for the most part."

"If not having any Human in us gives us stronger powers then why doesn't Jason have Telepathy and all the other stuff I can do?"

"Jason has the power of attraction from the Fae and the power of persuasion from me, but powers tend to manifest more strongly in Female Hybrids, which is why you have so many abilities, some I dare say you haven't even discovered yet."

Sookie sits for a moment then asks, "But you said the sight passed over Momma, if she was a Female Hybrid why didn't she have the Sight?" She's showing her level of intelligence with all of her questions and I have to say I'm rather impressed, so far she's asked everything I would ask.

"Your Mother had more Elfish abilities than those of a Seer. She had the power of persuasion and the ability to hide in plain sight and blend in, though she did get premonitions from time to time. Not all powers are necessarily passed down; the more common abilities get passed down more easily just like with Humans and other animals. The more impressive abilities are much rarer. The sight and your Telepathy and Empathy are examples of that."

Sookie sits a moment then turns to me with wide eyes, "Eric, do you think the Queen knows about my Heritage… at least the parts I share with Hadley? Do you think that's why she wants me so badly? Not just the Telepathy, but the possibility of more?"

Another excellent question, "I haven't heard anything on the tapes to suggest that she knows of your Heritage per say, but she knows that Hadley tastes better than most, she's mentioned that multiple times on multiple occasions.

Though to be honest I haven't been able to get a bug into her office where she does her most private business. She expects bugs there so she sweeps for them often in that room. It is possible that she's talked about that with Andre, her Beloved Childe and second in command while in that room. Though she does tend towards pillow talk so I'm not sure if it would come up in the office or the bedroom but I've got ALL of the bedrooms bugged, so… your guess is as good as mine I suppose." She's giggling again. "What?"

"You have ALL the bedrooms bugged!" she's full out laughing now, "Of course you do! It's probably part of your whole Sex-God-ness." Now I'm laughing as her eyes go wide, her hand covers her mouth and her face and upper chest turn bright red! Her eyes dart to her Grandmother who is very clearly trying not to laugh, trying being the operative word. I decide to continue THAT part of this discussion later tonight when there are no witnesses to further embarrass my Pet.

"I'll have you know that I've learned most of what I learned about you from the recordings from the Queen's private bed chamber. As I said she likes pillow talk and after she's had her way with her pet she talks to her, or actually it's Hadley who does most of the talking. The Queen just asks little questions here and there and Hadley goes on and on about you and her family, now that I think about it I think she's mentioned your uncle before…"

Adele asks, "You know about Bartlett?" at the same time Sookie asks with tears in her eyes, "He got to her didn't he?"

"I'm sorry that was inappropriate, but yes I know about your adoptive Brother." I pause and turn to look Sookie in the eyes. "Yes, I believe he did to her what he could not do to you."

I hear Adele gasp, then she states VERY firmly, "Baby, you and Hadley, did nothing wrong, do you hear me, NOTHING! Bartlett was the one who did wrong," she pauses briefly and then whispers, "and I trust you will seek vengeance for both of my Granddaughters?"

Now it's Sookie's turn to gasp, "Gran!"

"I know you're shocked dear, but I am just as much a Supe as your Vampire and what Bartlett did is a Blood Offense… I didn't kill him because I thought he hadn't actually raped you, but if he raped Hadley, then it's a Blood Offense and thereby punishable by death. I probably wouldn't torture him, but I'm sure your Vampire will, and personally I think it's only fair. The mere thought of him preying on my little grandbabies inspires such anger and hatred and rage, that I can't even begin to describe it."

"I can feel it; it's so strong. I didn't know you were capable of such anger and rage and I definitely didn't think you would ever hate anyone least of all THAT much!" Sookie has tears running down her cheeks.

Adele looks me right in the eye and says softly, "I trust you will take into account this matter as you explore your relationship with my Granddaughter."

I nod and reply just as softly, "I have and I will continue to do so."

"Thank you."

I simply nod my reply.

"GRAN!" Sookie is turning bright red and I'm quite certain that it goes ALL the way down this time. I can feel her mortification through our new Bond. Surprisingly I wish to reduce this feeling in her.

"Sookie, I am a man, a Vampire and you are a beautiful young woman and I have Bonded to you, it stands to reason that our relationship will at some point go…"

Sookie places her hand over my mouth, "Go there or not we DON'T have to TALK about it! In front of GRAN no less!" I lick her palm and her eyes dilate. I chuckle as she turns redder and pulls her hand away. "Um, maybe we should go for now… if I think of any other questions I'll let you know."

"That's fine dear." I can see that Adele is working very, VERY hard not to burst out laughing, "Just keep in mind not to mention any of this over the phone, I'm sure the Queen has bugged at least your phone and I'd be VERY surprised if she hasn't bugged Eric's."

I nod deeply, "She has bugs on all the phone lines she KNOWS I have, not all of them of course, but the ones she knows about, definitely. I'll get you both untraceable disposable phones tomorrow so that you can talk freely without worrying about anyone listening who shouldn't be."

"That's why you told me not to mention you by name or that you're a Vampire, you think she's already listening to my phone calls."

"I do, and she is. It's what I would have done, in fact I thought about it, but I didn't want her to be able to trace it back to me, because then she'd know I know you exist, which she can't know until we are both Marked.

Adele, I'll have Pam bring you an untraceable phone tonight before she goes to rest and she'll give you Sookie's new number."

"Thank you Eric, that's very Kind of you. Before you go, Sookie, have you eaten? I know how you forget. Eric you be sure she eats three square meals a day and good snacks in between. Maybe even hire someone to cook for her that way she can't forget or be lazy and eat junk food."

"Gran! He does NOT have to get me a cook. I am perfectly capable of cooking for myself."

"Mmmhmm, and what have you eaten since I gave you lunch before work yesterday?"

"Umm… I had raviolis tonight… and I kinda forgot to eat last night, but there were extenuating circumstances. It won't happen again."

"In almost 24 hours all you've eaten is raviolis? Did you at least have a salad with your dinner?"

"Um, no, we were in a hurry." Sookie seems sheepish as she says this.

"Eric, you hire a cook or I'm going to come feed her everyday and I'm sure neither of you want me interrupting your time together." She says this with an almost evil smile… though it's clear she means it.

I smile back, "I'll have my Day-Person hire someone qualified tomorrow. And I will see that she eats a big salad when we get home tonight."

"Thank you Eric."

"Hmp. You can stop treating me like a child anytime now." Sookie looks so petulant as she says this that I burst out laughing. She's even got her hands on her hips.

"Nonsense Sookie," Adele responds affectionately, "We are merely treating you as someone we care about that we don't want to see neglected however unintended that neglect might be."

"Fine. Can we go now?" She's obviously planning to rip me a new one as the Vermin say when we get into the SUV.

"Sure, Sookie, Adele, it was a pleasure seeing you again." Sookie kisses Adele and then I place my hand at Sookie's back as we walk out the door. I open her door for her and she glares at me but says thank you despite her ire.

I chuckle to myself as I walk around the front of the SUV and open my door. I slide in and shut the door and start counting in my head… 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… "You think you're so smart, but I can hear you counting in my head."

I think at her 'I'm aware you can hear me that was kind of the point.'

"Hmp. Are you really going to hire a cook? I really am capable of cooking for myself. Gran taught me how to cook and I have a bunch of recipes in those two binders we packed and they're good for me food too, not junk. Please don't hire a cook."

I consider her statement as I turn the car around and drive back down the driveway. "How about this, we'll give it a week and if you are not living up to your end I will hire a cook, but I reserve the right to hire a cook anytime after the week is over. If you slack off two months from now I will hire you a cook, it will be an ongoing thing."

"Fine, but I won't slack off." She says still with a petulant air about her.

"Good then we won't have a problem." I trail off thinking.

Should I include additional punishment if she does slacks off? Suddenly she turns to me and says, "You absolutely should NOT include further punishment! A Cook is punishment enough!"

"I don't know I think you're less likely to slack off if there is an additional punishment involved and the whole point here is to see that you eat properly. Yes I like this idea… 20 spanks with my bare hand on your bare ass if you slack off with your meals at any time."

"Absolutely NOT!"

"Then I'm hiring a cook for you tomorrow, the choice is yours." I let her think on that for a while.

After a few minutes she says, "10 spanks."

I smile, "20 spanks."

"15 spanks, that's as high as I'm going." She looks worried and she should be because I fully intend to carry out this punishment if she fails to properly care for herself.

"Agreed, 15 spanks with my bare hand on your bare ass if you fail to properly see to your meals."

"Agreed."

She sits quietly for a couple of minutes then she asks softly, "Are you really going to torture and kill Uncle Bartlett? And did my Grandmother basically order you to do it?"

"Yes to both questions. It's a Blood Offense what he did to Hadley, and while I don't really care about a Blood Offense against your cousin, I do care about what he did to you and what your Grandmother wants. She was a good friend to me many years ago. She has asked this of me and I will do it for her."

"When?" she sounds so forlorn.

"After I've dealt with Compton and told the Queen that I have Marked you. You don't have to be present if you don't want to be… if it will hurt you further to witness it I will spare you that pain, but it will happen." I say this as resolutely as I can so she understands that I'm serious.

"Can I think about it?" She sounds like a little girl now, a scared little girl.

"Of course Sookie, you have until it happens to decide. I promise to give you 12 hours notice so that you may make your decision before the event is upon us."

"Thank you." She says so softly I almost miss it.

"You don't have to thank me Sookie. I don't want to cause you undue pain or suffering, not this kind anyway." I wiggle my eyebrows at her. Which reminds me, "We're going to stop by Fangtasia, but we're not going in… I'll have Pam bring out what I had my Day-Man deliver today."

"Ok." And we enjoy the silence for the rest of the ride. When I pull into the back parking lot of Fangtasia I take out my phone and text Pam to bring out everything my Day-Man should have delivered to the club before it opened; a moment later Pam is at my Window carrying a bag. I roll down the window and go to speak when Sookie speaks first.

"You're the woman who was at my House the other day… You're Pam?"

"I am and you are my Master's new Pet."

'I must say considering he's never had one before I think he's done a splendid job of choosing his first.'

I almost miss the fact that she didn't say the last part out loud. But then I hear Sookie scream in my head, 'ERIC! I heard her, oh GOD!'

"My you smell delicious… does she taste as good as she smells Master?"

I smirk as I reply, "Even better!"

"I'm jealous; here are the things that incompetent Human brought over for you."

"Good, I want you to purchase two disposable phones with money from the cash box. Deliver one to Mrs. Stackhouse in Bon Temps and deliver the other to my house. Make a note of each number so that Sookie and her Grandmother can call each other. Call me if anything unexpected happens, otherwise I'm not to be disturbed until tomorrow night." I roll up the window as I hand the bag to Sookie so I can drive.

As soon as we pull away from the club she turns to me and whispers, "I heard her Eric. What are we gonna do?"

"First of all Sookie, breathe. I heard her as well, so it may just be because of our Maker/Childe Bond. So we'll have to see if this ability includes Vampires I'm NOT connected to through a Bond. If it's just Pam then there are no worries, since she has no secrets from me anyway."

I smile to myself as I see her peering into the top of the bag. "Eric, Vampires don't get sore muscles, right? Or Eat Mexican food? Or what is that at the bottom of the bag…? It smells like ginger. What is all this stuff for?" She's looking at me curiously.

"Remember our shower last night?" I ask with a smirk.

"How can I forget? That was amazing." And there she goes turning that beautiful shade of crimson that I'm growing to love almost as much as I love the particular shade of scarlet that blood is.

"Remember how the soap felt on your sensitive parts after it was left on for a while?"

"Y-yess." She stutters as her eyes widen, "You're not gonna put that… oh Lord. That… I can't decide if I'm scared or impressed or jealous that I didn't think of that myself."

"We won't use them all at once, but I'm told each one feels slightly different so I thought we can try them each out eventually." I smirk as I hear her moan and I can smell her arousal permeating the car air. Excellent, that's exactly the response I want.

The closer we get to my home… our home… the more she's fidgeting and it's hard to hide my smile as I watch her squirm in her seat.

As I pull up to the gate and enter the code to open it I say, "First thing you're doing when we get inside is making yourself a large salad and then you're going to eat ALL of it! Then maybe we'll play some."

"I'm not hungry."

"Do I get to spank you so soon? I can have my Day-man find a cook before you wake up and they can make you breakfast when you rise."

"NO! You don't get to spank me! I haven't neglected my meals… I'm just not hungry right now… it's only been a little while since I ate."

"It has been more than five hours and I was under the impression that Humans eat every four to six hours so this is perfectly in the middle. You will eat a salad or I will punish you. And if I punish you I will be sure to play with you afterwards and I will pay particular attention to grinding my lower half into yours so that your sore ass constantly rubs against the sheet, or maybe I'll play with you on the rug, I bet that would be uncomfortable. I could always rub some IceyHot onto your ass after I've given you the 15 spanks, hey and THEN I could play with you on the floor. What do you think? Sound like a good plan?"

"Fine I'll eat a DAMN Salad!" She practically screams at me.

I won't let that particular behavior take root. "You scream at me again or curse at me and I will punish you whether you eat the salad or not. You will ALWAYS speak to me with the proper amount of respect or a sore ass will be the least of your worries. Do you understand me Sookie?"

"Yeah." She whispers, that won't do either.

"'Yes, Eric.' is the proper response, so I ask again, do you understand me Sookie?"

"Yes Eric." She says it softly but the proper deference is obvious so I let it go.

"Good, now let's go inside and you can make your salad."

She's silent as I open her car door for her and lead her into the house, which is probably for the best since I can feel her turmoil in the Bond. She's not sure how to feel about what just happened. I have to remember that this is all new to her and be careful not to push too hard, but I will not allow such behavior to take root. It's best to nip such bad behavior in the bud now while it's new rather than have to teach her to unlearn a habit.

I turn to her, "After you make your salad I will unload your things from the car while you eat; after I am sure it is of a sufficient size."

"Is it really necessary to wait to see if it's a good size? I'm perfectly capable of choosing the proper size for myself." She huffs that last part.

"You tell me, since you were the one thinking that if I wasn't in here when you made the salad then you could pretend it started out bigger and then not have to eat as much. You're lucky I'm not punishing you just for thinking such thoughts, but I have yet to decide whether I shall include your thoughts in my determinations as to whether you need to be punished, so for now I will let the thought slide. But if this becomes an issue I WILL take it into consideration."

I hear her loud and clear though I'm fairly certain she wasn't trying to let me hear her when she thinks, 'He sure does talk about punishment a lot but so far he's all bark and no bite.'

"I am merely making sure that you are aware of all the rules BEFORE I start punishing you. I am trying to build a relationship with you built on trust and punishing you without first warning you that you are doing something wrong will not build trust, but rather dissent. Of course if you'd rather I punish first and explain why afterwards I can do that instead." I raise one eyebrow in question as I stare at her with her mouth in the form of an 'O'.

I turn her towards the refrigerator and push lightly as I say, "Now be a good girl and make your salad." Hmmm. I felt arousal from her when I said the part about being a good girl. It's as if she was made for me.

I watch intently as she takes out the ingredients to make her salad. Once she finds a knife and cutting board she quickly washes and chops everything and then asks, "Is there a bowl I can put this in?"

I go into the pantry and retrieve a bowl for her. She smiles slightly as I hand it to her. Apparently she has decided not to continue to argue about her salad. This is a good sign.

Once she's sitting at the table with her bowl of salad I kick it into high gear and move all the boxes from the SUV to the room right outside the door to my chambers. She's still eating when I finish moving everything so I sit down and watch her eat.

Apparently that's making her nervous because she quickly asks, "What? Why are you staring at me?"

I chuckle and then reply, "I'm just amazed by how enticing it is watching you eat. I noticed it earlier when you were eating your raviolis. So I'm sitting here trying to will my dick not to get hard, well, harder anyway, I'm pretty much constantly hard anytime I'm around you. But it gets harder when I watch you eat." I wiggle my eyebrows at her as she turns that delightful shade of crimson again.

She chews for a while and then asks tentatively, "can we talk about, umm, us, having sex, umm, making love, err…"

I chuckle and respond, "Of course Princess, I assume you want to set a date"

She nods, "Yeah, umm Yes."

"I'm not sure if we should wait until after the Marks or not. Just as the Blood Bond can be overwhelming so can the Marks. I'm not sure we should be mixing the two especially if it does take a while for you to acclimate to the Marks. I want you to be able to bask in the afterglow after I've made love to you." I don't usually use the words 'making love' but I find that I really do want to romance her and that although I definitely can't wait until I can fuck her I don't want to JUST fuck her… I want it all… the whole spectrum. I'm not sure how I feel about that. It's been well over 1,000 years since I last had that kind of relationship. I didn't even have that with Pam when I first made her. I guess I sort of had that kind of relationship with Godric before he released me, but I wasn't the one in charge in that relationship so I'm not exactly sure how to do this. And the whole idea of it makes me a little nervous. I am definitely NOT in my comfort zone anymore. But I haven't lived this long without learning to adapt to any given situation.

"When will the Marks be… done… in place, or whatever?" She sounds a little impatient and that makes me smile because I'm impatient for IT too.

"Well we can do the first and maybe the second Mark tonight if you feel up to it after the first Mark. And then we can do one each night for the next three nights and that will have us completely Marked by Sunday morning and then a couple days for you to recuperate, so say Tuesday of next week."

"I can't wait that long!" she blurts out and then covers her mouth with her hand.

I laugh at that, "You've waited 25 years what's a couple more days?"

"I didn't know I could. Now I know it's not outside the realm of possibilities and I WANT it! I always thought… now don't get mad or punish me cuz I'm not saying I am but I always thought I was defective or ruined. Now I know that I'm not completely defect…" I raise my eyebrow and shake my head slightly and she stops mid word before continuing,"err well I'm not as incapable as I thought. The idea of waiting now that I know what you can make me feel is, well it's torturous."

I smile at that last part. "Waiting will only make the actual event even better, Princess. The anticipation is part of the fun."

"But that's not fair…"

"I will often not be fair when it comes to our sex life. I can be a fair Dom when I want to be, but part of the whole point of being a Sadist is that I don't want to be fair… I want to torture you." Her eyes go wide and her lip trembles and I see in her head her recollection of my saying I was going to torture her uncle, "I don't intend to do any lasting damage but during the act you will suffer to an extent and I think that will make it even more pleasurable for you since you are a Masochist. I won't ever torture you the way I would your Uncle, rest assured of that, but it will be a type of pleasurable torture."

"So whatever you're planning to do to Uncle Bartlett, you're umm, saying you wouldn't do those things to me, or those kinds of things, or, umm… I'm not sure what I'm trying to ask. Sorry." She looks a little scared and I can feel the barest whispers of it through the Bond.

I think this is a product of us only having known each other a day. After a while she will grow to trust me, like I said it's why I keep warning her about punishments. Because she WILL NOT enjoy punishments even a little bit. And because she likes pain they'll have to be a little harsher than I would do on a non-Vampire who doesn't like pain. Plus as we explore our relationship she'll learn what sorts of things I'm willing to do to her. I'll always leave her guessing a little but she'll have a better understanding of what I consider acceptable treatment of her. Now how to explain the difference between what I'm willing to do to her and what I am planning to do to that Asshole.

"Princess whatever I do to you will ultimately be for both of our enjoyment. I might enjoy it a little more than you in the moment, but the idea of it before during and after should arouse you. I'm not going to permanently damage you although I am considering piercing you in several places, cute little rings in your nipples for example or one on the hood of your clit, or if I'm feeling particularly sadistic maybe even one THROUGH your clit, but I won't brand you or give you life threatening injuries.

Your Uncle on the other hand… His torture will be all about my enjoyment, not his, not even a little and I will ultimately give him wounds that won't heal and he will in the end die.

I know I used the word torture to describe both, but what I need you to understand is that when it's in reference to you it means one thing and when it's in reference to someone else it may mean another thing all together. It's a matter of where on the spectrum of torture I'm willing to go with you. On one side of the spectrum the torture is ultimately pleasurable and on the other end it ends in death. Once we reach the middle of that spectrum I won't go past a certain point with you that I might go to with other individuals as the need arises. Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?" I monitor the Bond as I speak and I can feel her fear disappear but she has a certain amount of sadness when I mention how I will treat other people."

I can hear in her thoughts that she knows she can't change who I am to the point that I won't hurt people at all. A part of her, a rather surprisingly large part of her doesn't want to change me. But We/she will definitely have to work through the differences between how people are treated in the Human World versus how people are treated in the Supernatural World. I'm fairly certain we'll have several similar conversations in the future. That's expected though. It's a big change going from interacting with people in the Human world to interacting in the Supe World, especially if the change is as sudden as it has been with Sookie.

********************************9********************************

**SPOV**

I'm really not sure what I was trying to ask. But using the same word to mean two different things confuses me when it's such a touchy subject. I can feel my whole body flush when he mentions piercing me and my crotch feels like it's alive when he mentions piercing THROUGH my clit. And it's not a bad or unpleasant sensation. I actually rather like it. As he continues talking it finally clicks into place… what he's willing to do to me will make me feel like this and what he's going to do to Uncle Bartlett will not cause any kind of pleasure.

I'm sad that he'll hurt people when they don't like it, but I know I can't change that part of him. I'm not even sure I'd want to. I like him the way he is, even if parts of him are really scary sometimes.

"I guess I still have trouble understanding that it's possible to enjoy torture. I mean I know I like pain, but a certain part of my brain says that's wrong and bad, ya know what I mean?"

He nods, "That's from the American Puritanical way of brainwashing every one. Mainstream Religious Groups all tell you that sex is bad and that sadism and masochism are bad. None of these things are true. But they practically brainwash everyone these days to the point where even when you know it feels good to you part of you is still trying to tell you it's somehow wrong. That's one of the things I hate about the Modern World… it wasn't always this way.

But don't worry you and I will work on un-brainwashing you, ok? Eventually your point of view will change and you won't have such turmoil over this, but unfortunately that takes time. I'm sure we'll have more discussions like this in the future. I want you to feel free to bring this stuff up whenever you want. I don't want you suffering emotionally if you don't have to."

I nod as he pauses but when I don't say anything he continues, "Honestly, at this point the only thing I might not be able to talk to you about is Vampire business. Though if that sort of situation comes up I will tell you that I can't discuss it with you, but even then that will be limited since technically you're not even a little Human and you're my Mate. Once we're Marked you'll know everything I know and other Supes will accept that. We'll have no secrets, though it will take time for your brain to absorb everything in my brain considering how much older I am."

I nod and answer quietly, "I'll try to think differently about it. To see it from other points of view as you said."

He nods back, "That's the first step. And unfortunately it's not really an easy step because you'll have to constantly remind yourself to think differently, but I'll help with that on several fronts."

I wonder at that, so, "What does that mean, 'on several fronts'?"

I can hear him debating with himself if he should go into detail or gloss over it for now.

"Please don't gloss over it." I don't mean for my voice to waiver when I say that.

"It means you need to change your way of thinking in several areas. And I intend to help you with that, but I'll be honest I expect to be handing out punishments quite a bit at first. But as time goes by the infractions will decrease in number and therefore so will the number of punishments you receive on a regular basis."

That makes me nervous and I know he can feel it. "Can you give me an example?"

He pauses then, "For instance I fully expect to have to spank you for calling yourself defective or something similar in spirit. I expect to have to do that repeatedly. Once we find a groove so to speak I'm not going to stop you from saying it. I'm going to let you say it and then punish you. Not to be mean, but because the punishments will ultimately curb the behavior. I expect that changing your thoughts will be significantly harder and I haven't decided yet how to approach that particular problem?"

My knee-jerk reaction to that is that it wouldn't be fair to punish me for my thoughts, but part of me understands that that's the only way they'll change. Do I tell him that, or… I want to be whole so… "I want you to punish me if I think negative things about myself." Shit did I really just say that? Oh boy, that smile looks kind of evil.

"Instead of expecting me to do what you want ask me nicely Little One and I will do this for you." He pauses, but I'm sure he can feel and hear my confusion so he continues, "request that I punish you for having negative thoughts about yourself. And don't forget to say please." That smile really IS evil.

Shit he's waiting for me to actually ask him to do that. "Umm, will you please punish me for having negative thoughts about myself?"

He smiles wider, "Since you asked so nicely I will do this for you, though next time you ask for something don't forget to say my name. It's a sign of respect."

He looks like he's waiting for something again. What is he waiting for? Oh! "Thank you Eric."

"Good girl." The way he's smiling at me makes me feel proud when he says that.

I get up to wash my bowl and fork and have to go into the pantry to get the soap again as I walk towards it Eric asks me, "While you're in there can you get five zip-loc bags? There should be a new box."

I nod and moments later I come back and hand him the bags then go back to the sink to wash my dishes. Eric gets up and comes over to the counter where the bag Pam gave him is sitting. He takes everything out of the bag and places it on the counter. He takes four of the hands of Ginger root and places each one in a bag and seals the bags. Then he takes them and puts them in a crisper in the fridge. When he comes back he opens the drawer the knives are in and cuts one of the fingers and part of the palm off the hand. He smiles an evil smirk at me as he begins peeling the finger. Once the entire finger and the palm are peeled he goes back to one of the fingers still attached to the hand. He peels the very tip and then cuts off a sliver. Then he puts what's left of the hand in the last bag and puts it in the fridge with the others. He comes back again and picks up the little sliver and seems to be carving out part of it. He places it on the counter and picks up the finger and carves a ring around the end near the part of the palm still attached to it.

He turns to me and asks, "Are you ready to retire to our chambers?"

I know my eyes are big. He's really gonna touch me there with the Ginger. I slowly nod my head as he picks up the finger and sliver and leads me back and up the stairs.

He has me practice using the security features to open the door then leads me in. "Sookie go up stairs and take off your clothes and lie down on your stomach."

I hesitate, but he just stares me down so I walk to the stairs and go up. I slowly take my clothes off and hang them back up in the closet for the time being. I stare at the bed for a minute as I exit the closet. When I hear Eric clear his throat I realize he's joined me, how long was I staring at the bed. I hurry over to the bed and lay down on it. Eric has some thin rope that almost looks like nylon rope my brother has. He sits on the side of the bed and reaches for my hand and ties one of the pieces of rope around my wrist. "Eric, I…"

"Shh Sookie, you'll like this I guarantee it. Remember how much you loved the soap last night, this will be even better." He stretches my arm out and up and ties the end of the rope to the bed post. Then he gets up and goes around to the other side and does the same thing. I'm not so sure about this, I've never been tied up before, but I trust Eric, so I lay my head on the pillow and let him do his thing. I hear him go into the bathroom and the water running, and then he comes back out and places a cup on the bed stand to my right. The finger is sticking out of the cup. I watch as Eric slowly strips, first sitting next to me and untying and removing his boots and socks. Then he stands and removes his shirt then his pants, no underwear, YUM! He lies down beside me and his fingers trace the line of my spine down my back.

He grabs the finger and then separates my butt cheeks and I tense. Is he going to…? "Sookie you need to relax, although this isn't very thick it will go in more easily if you try to relax." And suddenly I feel it cold up against my asshole and then he's pushing it in. It feels weird having something going in not out, but it's cold and it doesn't really hurt. I feel it warming and then after a minute or two it's starting to tingle. I reflexively squeeze my butt cheeks together and the tingling increases. I feel Eric stroking my back then suddenly his hand comes crashing down on my ass and my eyes water, both from the sting of the slap and from the burning sensation that increased dramatically when I tensed up.

**********************************9******************************

**EPOV**

She looks so beautiful wiggling her ass as I stroke her back then without warning I strike her pretty hard on the ass and just as expected she tenses and then moans from the burning. Her moans are continuing and growing in strength. I kiss her shoulder and then bring my hand down on her ass again and she lets out a yelp that I hate to admit is very cute. I spread her legs and reach my hand under with the sliver of ginger in my hand and find her clit and place it right on top of it. The little hollow I made allowing it to nestle right up to her clit. I let go of the sliver, and Praise Freyja! It stays in place. Now she's getting very vocal and her hips won't stop moving. I stroke my hand down her back again and this time I don't smack her ass, just to change it up, but her ass rises as if to meet my hand. So I wait a moment and then smack her ass a little harder than before.

"Mmm, Eric" she cries out as I bring my hand down on her ass again. I can smell the start of tears. So I crack her ass with my hand three times in quick succession. And she cries out again. I rub my hand over the redness forming on her buttocks and then raise and bring down my hand a little harder than before and ah… now there are tears running down her face. I lean over and lick her tears from the cheek closest to me. I continue to smack her ass every now and then for the next ten minutes. I hit her one last time as I figure the burning is coming to its end. I pull the finger from her ass and drop it in the trash barrel by the bed stand. She's still wiggling and moaning from the ginger on her clit. That'll last for another couple of minutes, so I slide my hand between her legs again and I rub my fingers around her vulva. I press two fingers in and stretch her. I add a third finger and then push and pull as I scissor my fingers, lightly brushing against her barrier. Her moaning is a little louder now; I imagine the oils on my fingers from the ginger are burning her a bit, which is of course the point. I reach behind me and grab the dagger off the bed stand and I watch pleased as her eyes get big.

"Do it, please! Do it! Please, please… ahhh." I pull the blade across her back as she begs me for more.

"Please, Eric, more, please." She's panting now and I bring the blade down across her back again just under the first cut. I cut her three more times before the smell of her blood gets to me and I begin to lick the blood from her back. I keep dragging the knife across her back just slightly lower each time before I follow the cut with my tongue. I go from the middle of her shoulder blades all the way down to the top of her ass. Then just for fun I drag the dagger down vertically five times from shoulder to ass. She's moaning very prettily and I can tell she's in sub-space.

If she weren't a Virgin this is when I would fuck her and while a blade may very well be involved the night I take her virginity that night is NOT tonight.

I smooth back her hair from her face and play with it a little while I wait for her to come back to reality. Ordinarily I wouldn't wait and I'd have her at least give me a blow job, but I remember her saying HE made her do that, so I won't do that without her express permission. So I continue to play with her hair and I can slowly feel her coming back through the Bond.

Her eyes slowly clear and she smiles dreamily at me. "Hi."

"Hi. Are you ok Princess?"

"Oh yeah, never better." And she giggles. "hmm I love the burn from the cuts that comes afterwards."

I smile at her, "I thought you might. I may make sure to leave some cuts on you after we do the marks so you can feel the burn as you go to sleep and then I'll heal whatever's left after we wake."

Her smile widens, "Thank you Eric!"

"You're welcome Princess."

"Did you, umm, well, did um… did you… cum?" I can't believe she's blushing over that after what we just did, too funny.

I chuckle as I answer "No Princess I didn't."

"Well… if you untie me… maybe I can… ya know… take care of that for you." Is it my imagination or did she just get even redder?

"Hmm, what do you have in mind?"

She looks a little worried so I ask, "Sookie, if I asked you to give me a blow job would that be outside your comfort zone?" I take the sliver off her clit and start circling her clit with my finger.

"hmmm. I… I don't know. I… I liked it when I kissed it last night, but I don't know if I can actually put it in my mouth. It's kind of a scary thought."

I pinch her clit and then twist hard and she's coming all over my hand. Her moans and whimpers as I continue to pinch, pull and twist are like music to my ears. "Beautiful. You are just beautiful like this."

After her last whimper she lays quietly for a minute while I circle her clit over and over again. After a while she opens her eyes and says, "I wanna try."

I smile encouragingly as I say, "Thank you Sookie." I kiss her for a minute and then untie her. I rub her wrists and see that there are little red indentations on her wrists, but nothing that won't go away in a few minutes. She turns over and I pull her into my arms being sure to push against her back and kiss her softly, "Did you enjoy that?"

She turns that delightful shade of crimson again. "hmmm. Oh YES! That was AWESOME!"

I laugh as I sit up all the way and swing my legs over the side of the bed after I pull her into my lap.

She moans and pants a little as the skin on her back is stretched from the unexpected movement. I hold her in place for a couple of minutes being sure to press my fingers up against as many of the cuts as possible and I can smell her tears again. I tip her face to look at me and lick the tears from both cheeks before kissing her. She's still panting a little so I plunge my tongue right into her mouth and start tracing patterns along her tongue. We kiss for long minutes until she pulls away and slips off my lap into the V between my knees. When she's kneeling before me she looks me right in the eye and says, "Uh, I'm just gonna try, but if I don't like it I can stop right?"

I smile at her, "Of course you can stop whenever you want. DO what's comfortable for you."

She smiles back and reaches her hand up and grips my penis in her little hand. Her hand doesn't close all the way around it. "My you certainly have a "Gracious Plenty" don't you?" Her hand begins stroking up and down and after a minute or two she leans forward and kisses the tip. "Your, well, it looks different than his did… why is that? Yours has a little flap…"

"He was probably circumcised. The practice wasn't done among my people when I was born… in fact it was a couple centuries before Christianity swept through our culture and even more before non-Jews practiced circumcision. Does it bother you?" I can't believe that I'm actually nervous that she doesn't like my dick. I've never cared what anyone thought of it before.

"No, I think I like it better this way, it's more natural and it's different than how he was, so maybe it'll be different enough, ya know?" She's still stroking me softly as we converse.

I wrap my hand over hers and make her squeeze a little harder, "Squeeze harder." And she passes her palm over the tip on each up stroke like I showed her last night. She gets a very determined look on her face suddenly and she leans down and runs her tongue up the length of me and circles her tongue around the head that has a few pearls of cum on it which she proceeds to lick off. She licks it one more time before rising up a little on her knees and pulling the tip into her mouth. Our eyes lock and I try to smile encouragingly as she sucks me into her mouth because I know how difficult this is for her. She's overcoming some major fear here.

She sucks my penis a little further into her mouth and I can feel the back of her throat brush against my tip. She wraps her hand around the part that doesn't fit and starts bobbing up and down with her hand following her lips. I don't think I've ever seen anything more beautiful than this little girl with her little lips wrapped around my big dick. I whisper hoarsely as I look into her eyes and softly stroke her cheek with the backs of my fingers, "use your teeth a little, don't bite, but scrape them along… FUCK Yeah, just like that. You're so beautiful like this. On your knees before me, with me stretching your little mouth, ugh… I'm getting there... do you want to swall…ow, Goddess, or… shit, I'm there…" and I come in long spurts into her mouth. That went a little faster than I had planned, but the sight of her… Guh… she swallows all of my seed down and then places a tender kiss on the tip before sitting back on her knees.

She has a little drip of cum on her lip and I bend towards her and lick it off, which seems to surprise her. "That was amazing Sookie. Was it ok for you?"

"It's weird, it's like other than that thing last night everything seems different with you. You even taste different and you looked into my eyes and stroked my cheek gently… he… he always had his hands in my hair forcing me to go deeper or faster. I felt like I was in control when I was doing it to you. It was actually a pretty awesome feeling, knowing what I was doing to you."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it almost as much as I did…" I chuckle with her at that as I pull her back up into my lap. I kiss her softly for a minute, then pull back, "Are you up to doing the first Mark now or do you want to take a nap first?"

She smiles, "I want to do the Mark now… then I'll take a nap, maybe… or we could play more…" I chuckle at that I've created a beautiful little monster.

"Ok, now the only difference between the Blood Exchanges for the Bond and Blood Exchanges for the Marks is the intent. It's the intention that causes the marks to form. So when you drink from me, do it with intent, ok?" She nods and I reach behind me to where the dagger landed when we were done playing earlier. I lay it down beside me so I'll be able to find it when I need it. "I'll go first, then you, ok? Ready?"

She nods so I kiss her lips softly then trail my kisses down across her chin and down her throat lingering for a moment at her pulse point. Then I travel down to just above her heart and I bite hard. I'm chanting 'form the First Mark' over and over in my head. Suddenly I feel like something inside of me just opened up and I instinctively know it's time for her to drink. So I lick the wound to close it and raise the dagger to my chest and drag it deeply above my heart.

She licks up the length of the wound and then her little mouth wraps around the wound and she's pulling on it just as hard as I did. I can hear her repeating, 'Please work, make us one, please work, please,' over and over in HER head. And suddenly I feel something slip into that space that opened up inside me and I almost jerk back when I realize it's her inside me. The feeling is overwhelming and I only realize that tears are running down my face when a drop of my tears falls on her face and runs down her cheek.

I hear 'And so it begins, Blessed Be.' in my head and I know, just KNOW that the First Mark is in place. I feel a tingling right above the spot that I cut and I look down and see the symbol for the Triple Goddess just above my heart. It feels warm and Sookie's gently stroking it with her fingers. That's when I notice the mark on her chest The Earth Mother Goddess silhouette with the symbol for the Triple Goddess in her hands above her head.

This blows my mind because the few individuals I know who have Marked people never said what happened, just that I would know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was complete. I'd say so. I reach out and touch Sookie's mark and my finger tip tingles a little. I pull Sookie's body into mine and hold her tight. I'm not sure why I'm so moved, but I AM! I notice that the cuts on her back are all healed up… That I KNEW would happen, but it saddens me a little, but then I smile thinking of putting some more there once we do the Second Mark.

"Ok you just got an Evil smile on your face, but I can't tell what you were thinking to put it there, you've got that box in there again." She pauses and then she whispers as she plays with the hairs on my chest, "I really HATE that box."

"Hey, look at me." She doesn't so, "Sookie, look at me." I say the second as a command and she immediately looks at me. I smile reassuringly; "I wasn't doing it to keep something from you, though I will if I want to. I'm still not sure how the box is there. Now as for the smile I had, I was just thinking about what I'm going to do to you after we do the Second Mark, but I'll let that be a surprise, so time for good little girls to take a nap so we can have some fun when you wake up."

She pouts, "But I'm not even a little tired, Eric… I feel completely energized, like I just woke up from a good sleep, it's actually kind of weird now that I think about it. Is that normal?"

"I'm not sure; those who have Marked someone rarely if ever talk about the actual Marking itself. Mostly what I know my Maker told me and I believe his Maker told him. I'm not sure either one of them ever Marked anyone. Actually I know Godric has not Marked someone. I would feel that. He probably felt what we did just now."

"Your Maker's name is Godric and he's still alive, well undead, or whatever?"

"Yes to both."

"Will I ever meet him?" she sounds nervous.

"I'm sure at some point we will run into him. I'm…" I stop suddenly not sure if I want to voice my concerns out loud. Then I decide denial only ever ends in grief. "I'm actually considering inviting him here. I can feel through my Bond with him that he is unhappy where he is, but every time I've offered in the past he's turned me down, so I'm not sure this time will be any different."

I kiss her forehead and swing my legs up onto the bed and pull her with me as I lay down so she's nestled in my arms.

I brush my hand through her hair a couple of times and I feel her breathing even out and then surprisingly I feel death call me and I go to rest too.

**********************************9******************************

A/N: ok I've decided to stop there for now because I just reworked the timeline in my head… so I'll start on chapter three tonight or tomorrow. (probably tonight)

Again a Big Shout out to my Beta Valady! Thanks so much for all your help.

BIG NEWS! To Repeat! I have started a wordpress blog for this story and It's Elemental… I'm not going to be posting any more chapters of this story here on … the subject matter is just not appropriate for this site after this chapter. The link is in my profile and Wordpress has an alert system similar to so you can get emails when I update. If anyone has any problems switching over PM me on THIS site or Wordpress and I will try to help you out. Oh and the version of this Chapter on Wordpress will have pictures of the First Marks embedded in the story.


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